Fire Treadmarks
by Kimba-la
Summary: A bigtime author and an aspiring race car driver soon find themselves in an entanglement far beyond their first encounter had ever lead them to imagine. AxelRoxas. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Fire + Treadmarks**

**Chapter 1**

_I can't believe that slime_. He leaned on his hand on his desk, staring up rather inattentively at the teacher lecturing. He was never all that engaged in school, but even less so when he had just done so poorly in a race. Especially against Hayner. He hated Hayner. He was so cocky just because he was relatively new to racing and was already so good. The boy did have to admit that; Hayner had talent, and maybe that's why, more than anything, he hated him. Hayner would probably go into the Twilight Cup, a fact that he hated. He didn't even entertain the thought that Hayner would beat him all the way up to the Struggle Cup Championships. Just thinking about Hayner's stupid, cocky grin made him so angry…_Next time I see, I swear I'll… _

"Psst, Roxas."

Roxas came awake when the boy behind him called to him. The boy had crazy brown hair and striking blue eyes. His face was still rather young even though he was fast approaching on 18, just barely older than Roxas himself. And he smiled like all the time, like a second nature.

"What's it, Sora?"

Sora gave a wary look up at the teacher before responding, "Whatcha doin' this Saturday?"

"Nothin', why?" Roxas answered, unable to hide the smoldering anger in his voice.

"Just askin'. Geez, you still angry about that race last week?" Sora asked, a little dumbfounded.

"Whatchoo think?" Roxas responded, not even trying to hide his resentment.

"Dude, you gotta learn to let it go. You won't be able to race-"

"Roxas! Sora! If you have things so important to talk about, then you can take your imperative conversation to the principal!" their teacher yelled. Immediately the two boys straightened up and looked forward. They forced themselves to keep their faces masked into eager awareness until the bell rang near half an hour later.

"C'mon Roxas, let's do something fun today," Sora said as the two friends gathered their books into their bags.

"I don't feel like it, Sora. Maybe later," Roxas replied, sliding his bag onto his shoulder.

"I promise you'll have fun," Sora persuaded. "C'mon, what's the worse that could happen?" Roxas desperately searched his brain for an answer to Sora's question, but found none. _What was the worse that could happen?_

"Okay, okay, fine. We'll go out tonight. But where?" Roxas asked, hoping that Sora wouldn't have an idea already in mind. Sora chuckled as they passed through the doors of their school to the student parking lot.

"I know just the place!"

"Well… where is it?" Roxas questioned, his voice rising as he moved farther away from Sora because their cars were parked away from each other.

"It's a surprise!"

_Great. Last time he "surprised" me, he tried to get me a stripper for my birthday. That didn't go over too well with mom. _"Okay… just don't make it like last time…" Roxas's voice trailed off as he got into his car. He didn't hear if Sora said anything or not because he shut the door and drove away, suddenly in a hurry to get away from school.

XXX

"Axel, thanks for coming over and helping me out. I mean, I have a lot to thank you for—"

With a flick of his slender hand, the slim, red-haired man waved away the appreciation his friend was giving him.

"Don't mention it, Demyx. I mean, fellow authors gotta stick together, right? Besides, you've given me plenty of great ideas for my stories, and now it's time for you to start getting some spotlight," he said, smiling as he walked out of Demyx's apartment. In truth, Axel was never good at accepting compliments or thank-yous. In high school he chose not to use his intelligence, he never tried out for any sports and he didn't make an effort to be nice. He hadn't really cared for what others thought of him, therefore, he never had anyone really say anything positive to him. But ever since he was twenty-two, he'd come clean from everything that brought him down in life -- his parents, alcohol, drugs. The only remnants of his past were two purple upside down tear shaped tattoos under his eyes. He didn't mind them being there, though. He thought they reminded him of what he didn't want to be again. Now he was an author, and a successful one at that, but even though he had changed for the better, his old self always found a way of coming back sometimes.

"See ya later, Demyx," and with that, he turned toward the elevator at the end of the hallway.

"Hey, wait! Axel… do you wanna do something tonight, maybe?" Demyx inquired.

"Um, sure… just call me with the details, I really need to get going," Axel said. He didn't feel comfortable knowing that people could hear their conversation through the walls and doors of the apartment complex. And that's why he always made Demyx come over to spend the night. Those nights where they both just needed to let go, let loose, get creative. And well, sometimes, things got loud.

"Alright then," Axel's caramel color haired friend replied. Demyx was about six inches shorter than Axel, who was 6' 2", and wore a mullet. Axel didn't know anybody but Demyx who still wore anything that was stylish from the 80s. And he had a sense of humor that could make anyone laugh. _Even Vexen, probably. No, maybe not. I don't think Vexen knows how to laugh._ Vexen was Axel's harsh, but reliable editor. He was an older man, with long, blonde hair. When Axel first met him, he made note of the fact that Vexen wasn't pretty, probably never was, and probably won't be.

Axel realized he'd been daydreaming all the way out to the parking lot. He spun in a circle twice before he found his car, got in, and drove away. He was in a hurry to get home. Thinking of Vexen made him remember that his deadline for chapter two of his new story was in three days. Turning out onto the street, and onto the highway, he noticed, dismayed, that all the cars were at a standstill. _Oh, well this is fucking great. At this rate, I'll never get this chapter done. What a pain in the ass._ Axel's ranting continued in his head for the next two hours in which it took him to get home.

XXX

Roxas shut the door to his room with an exasperated sigh; the day's stressors hanging over him like bad drapery. That metaphor right there made Roxas think about just how much his bedroom needed redecorating. His door was a bright, near electric blue with little stars and saltwater fish painted on it in faded blues and grays. Here and there white was added for emphasis. The same went for his curtains, one of his lamp shades, and the comforter that topped his bed. The little lamp at the head of his bed was a large white star shape lamp that glowed during the night. It gave the feeling of melancholy, like dreams half-forgotten of a far off life. The rest of his room was a non-descript brown, making the blue here and there stand out to the point of almost being an eyesore. His mother had forced him to have a few plants here and there in his room, for the ultimate feminine touch that brought everything together. _Guess I never thought about how horrid this room looks because I've never had to bring a girl in here._  
He shrugged off his book bag on to the end of his dull but sturdy desk, and then kicked off his shoes next to the door. Thumping across the hard wood floors to his bed, Roxas kicked some random clothing and forgotten books aside. He let himself drop onto his bed, running his fingers through his hair, his mind going 100 miles per minute, but not getting anywhere significant.

Opening his eyes, the pattern on his door met him on the ceiling, only the stars and parts of the fish glowed in the dark. Not that he could see it now, but it made him feel even more like he was in the room of a little kid. Still…he liked his room, although he'd never admit it. It was soothing, calming. In a stretching motion he reached his arm across to the phone on his nightstand, which had woken him up by ringing. He thumped his hand on the 'Talk' button and brought it to his ear with a groggy, "Hello?"  
"Hey Roxas, it's Sora!" Roxas all but groaned.

"What's it, man?" he replied half heartedly into the receiver.  
"Dude, you sound sleepy. Did you just get up?"

"Nah…still in bed. Whatchoo you want?"

"Are we doin' something tonight or what?"

"Mmppff…yeah."

"Well get up and get in your glad rags, I'll pick you up in a bit," Sora said enthusiastically.

"My what?!" Roxas asked a little stunned by his friend's usage of out-of-date slang. Roxas could practically hear Sora roll his eyes.

"Your good clothes, we're not just going to McDonalds. Mkay?" Sora explained, a little frustrated.

"Okay, whatever. Give me a half hour."

"Cool, see you then!"

XXX

"Finally… home…" Axel sighed, exhausted, as he made his way into his couch. He plopped onto it, and laid down. Turning over on his stomach, he let out another sigh, but this one was a sigh of comfort, since the cool black leather felt nice against his skin. _I'll just close my eyes for a second…_

Two hours later, his shocking green eyes snapped open to the sound of his telephone. He quickly sat up and jumped off the couch. There was always this gush of adrenaline whenever he was woken up by surprise. Leaping over his black wood coffee table, he grabbed the phone which was hanging on the opposite wall.

"Hello?" he asked, his breathing a little heavy.

"Hello, Axel. It's Vexen."

"You don't need to tell me twice. I could tell by the way the phone was sending me 'Don't pick up this call, or you'll regret it' vibes." Axel replied, sarcastically. Truthfully, he didn't know who was calling. He never bothered to use the caller ID option on his phone. If he'd known it was Vexen, he probably would not have answered.

"I get that a lot. Listen, I just called to check on the status of chapter two of your new story… you are working on it, aren't you? You know the deadline is in… oh, let's see… three days?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know… you don't have to call my house to tell me, you know," he could barely keep the irritation out of his voice. Glancing back over at the couch, he noticed a little puddle of drool where his face had been.

"I don't? I see. Well if that's the case, then I expect the new chapter in, hmm… two days," Vexen said with a chuckle.

"Two?! You're joking, right?"

"Well, I think you'd have it done by then, right? Since you've been working so hard…"

"Okay, okay, I was sleeping. Jesus, how do you do that?"  
"Do what?" Vexen asked, his cluelessness obviously fake.

"Get people to tell the truth," Axel said, sighing.

"Wouldn't you like to know? Anyway, get to work, Axel. Three days, got it memorized?"  
"Yeah, yeah, memorized," Axel said with a sigh of relief as the other side of the line went out. _That guy's gonna be my death._ Sighing, Axel gave a longing glance to his cool, leather couch again. The red pillows, almost as read as his hair, burning images of squares into his eyes. How he wanted to go back to it. _It's okay, baby. I'll be back soon._ And with that, he turned around and went up the stairs to his computer room. This room was adorned with the color yellow. The lights in this room gave off a yellow-ish glow, the cushioning on his computer chair was yellow, the lights of the computer were yellow, the book shelves had yellow designs on their black wood… he didn't know why, but the yellow made him feel comfortable and got his creativity going. _Okay… time to get to work._

Sitting down, he opened up the file in which his new story was in. _I still don't have a title for this thing, do I? Oh well, it'll come to me as I go along, I suppose._ He stared at the words 'Untitled' at the top of the document, then sighed, and began to work. For the next hour and a half there was nothing but the sound of fingers clacking on keyboard keys. Axel took a moment to stretch his hands out and massage them. Big mistake. His eyelids began to droop, and he leaned back, looking up toward the yellow ceiling. Once again, he had dozed off.

Another hour later, he was woken up by another phone call. _I wonder if Vexen has like… ESP or something._ Axel knew he was probably just being paranoid, but if it were Vexen calling to make him confess to sleeping again, that would be just a little _too_ creepy. Even by Vexen's standards. This time, he didn't jump at the phone. Axel readjusted his black framed glasses and took his time coming down the stairs, hoping whoever it was would just hang up if the phone rang enough. Instead, it just kept on ringing, like a persistent child whining about getting a toy, or some sea-salt ice cream. Something like that. He finally reached the phone. Moving his hand slowly and reluctantly, he ignored the caller ID flashing at him once more. He snatched the phone up quickly, deciding to just get it over with.

"Hello?" he asked, a little bit of nervousness escaped into his voice.

"Hey, Axel, it's Demyx," came a cheery reply.

"Thank God…" Axel whispered to himself.

"What was that?"

"Oh… nothing. So, what's up?" Axel said quickly.

"Um, yeah, I called to tell you the directions to the place I wanna show you tonight," Demyx answered with a little suspicion in his voice.

"Uhh... okay, just say it,"

"You got something to write with?"

"Nah, I'm going to memorize it," Axel said with a smirk.

"Okay then…." Axel listened to Demyx's directions and sure enough, he had them memorized. He was always good at memorizing things. It was like… one of his talents, as he would say.

"I'll meet you there in like… an hour?" Demyx asked.

"Sure thing," and with that, they both hung up.

XXX

Sora was always an insane driver, just about as insane of a driver as Roxas, only, in public. He brought his car into parking spot only centimeters before another guy, screeching to a halt. After recovering from the whiplash, both Roxas and Sora stepped out of the car. The guy they had beat to the parking spot was still sitting in his car, looking incredibly pissed and little fruity. He looked them both up and down before driving off to scavenge for another spot. Roxas adjusted the cuff of his shirt, which was a pleasant blue dress shirt. He also wore some blue jeans that were just comfy and black lace up shoes. On his right forefinger he wore a black onyx ring. He usually wore it, but tonight it just seemed to be the perfect final touch. Sora, on the other side of the car, was running his hands down his own white dress shirt, trying to rid it of any wrinkles it may have had. The only other difference in his dress was that his shoes were these large, and oddly shaped things that were an obnoxious yellow color. Roxas had learned long ago to never say anything about it. For some reason, Sora was quite fondly attached to them.

They turned towards the building behind them, a large and snazzy looking encampment where the undulating 'uhntiss uhntiss uhntiss uhntiss' bass of some dance music emitted, giving the area a heartbeat. The warm night air of the downtown city washed over them, no area of the street left totally untouched by the lights that were everywhere. People seemed to all thrive near the building.

"This is it."

"A bar? This where we're gonna have fun?" Roxas asked, cocking an eyebrow at the place. It didn't seem like anything special. It had neon lights running its length with a line of people trailing around the corner.

"Not just any bar. This is the newest hot spot! This is their Grand Opening!" Sora exclaimed, motioning to a banner on its wall stating this in an array of extremely bright colors. Roxas just looked at it. For some reason…he just felt as though something was wrong.

"Oh, come on! We'd better get over there before the line gets any longer. It's a good thing we're getting here early as it is. By the end of the night, we won't be able to get in at all!" Sora grabbed his friend's arm and dragged him across the street. They promptly took their place in what was a continuously growing line. The two boys looked ahead of them up a little deck where some large lookin' dudes checking ID's and letting people in. Occasionally they turned some guys back who made a large ruckus.

"This looks like it could take a while…" Sora commented pensively.

"If it takes too long, I'm outta here," Roxas said in an offhand matter, not really caring all that much. It was about fifteen minutes later that Roxas and Sora were much nearer to the bar entrance. It was then, when Roxas was playing with the ring on his finger, that he made a slightly disturbing observation.

"Hey, Sora," Roxas nudged his friend. Sora lifted his head to look at Roxas, his eyebrows lifting to his hairline and his eyes opening wide to show his full, bored, attention was on his friend. "Is it just me, or are all the people in this line a bunch of guys?" Sora's eyes brows connected in the center of this forehead as he looked around him suddenly in every direction.

"Looks like…I bet the girls are probably just gonna come later. It's only 10:30..." Sora continued to look around a little confused.

"I dunno man…some of these guys look a little queer…." Roxas trailed off as he looked up at the bouncers as the line inched forward a little bit. They were really close, only a few more people before it was their turn. His eyes drifted up to the neon lights above the door. In a bright pink light, the sign read The Flower Petal. Roxas's eyes just about popped out of their sockets.

"THE FLOWER PETAL!?!?! Sora!! What are you thinking!? This is a gay bar!" Roxas rounded on his friend who shirked behind him.

"Nah…it isn't. I swear! Seriously, the girls will probably come later…I mean…you know girls. They take so damn long to do their hair and make up. They will probably show up in a little while. Promise!" At that time, they were pushed forward by the older men behind them, putting them face to face with the big bouncers. The really big guy had an ugly looking frown on his skinny lips with red hair slicked back from his face leading off into these squiggly pieces of hair that looked like a cartoon of some sort. The other bouncer was a little smaller, but much more intimidating. He had ferocious sideburns that came up on his face that ended in point along his cheek bones. The rest of his mass of black hair was pulled into a large ponytail that ended in a whole bunch of dreadlocks.

Just then, the boys were momentarily spared a confrontation. Up came two guys, a dirty blonde and red head with outlandish hair. The blonde wore a mullet type hair-do, dressed in a smart light blue dress shirt with electric blue pinstripes that really made him stand out. The red head had hair that grew away in these large spikes that stuck out in the air, and down his back to his shoulders. He wore some black glasses, black pants, black shoes… and a dark green turtle neck. The only piece of color on him that stood out as much as his hair. The two walked up the bouncers, the blonde in lead, and immediately confronted the bouncer with black hair.

"Xaldin? Hey man, I'm Demyx, and this is The Flurry of Dancing Flames. We should be on your list," the blonde said in a voice that sounded younger than his face, and way too playful to be trusted. The bouncer must have caught onto this and gave the blonde a suspicious glare. The blonde guy only gave him a cocky smile; hardly convincing. The bouncer, Xaldin, then consulted the clipboard in his hands. Behind the blonde, the red head began to look around him, looking slightly bored. He looked down slightly at Sora and Roxas.

Bam.

The red head's eyes met Roxas's. They were a brilliant green that made Roxas just stare. Apparently this feeling was shared, for the red head held Roxas's gaze. Roxas seemed unable to breathe, his stomach felt like it was being pulled down by some invisible force, stretching it out, then letting it go, and snapping like a rubber band. His throat got tight and dry, but Roxas couldn't seem able to move enough to swallow. The moment seemed to suspend with intensity flaring between the two.

"You the Flurry of Dancing Flames?" The green eyes flicked away from Roxas, leaving him with the feeling as though he had just run a mile and couldn't quite catch his breath. The red head stared at the black haired bouncer for a moment, almost accusingly before he answered.

"Yes," He then curved his lips into a small smile. Xaldin smiled back revealing some brutal incisors.

"Marluxia would love to know that you've arrived. If you'd follow me, I'll take you to him."

"Sounds delightful!" the mullet head responded and followed the bouncer inside, the red head following closely behind him.

"What the hell, man?!" Sora boomed out of no where. "Why'd they get to go in like that?!" He then gave the remaining bouncer an accusing glare. The large carrot top met his glare and only over powered it.

"ID?" he grumbled, out stretching his hand. Both boys begrudgingly took out their wallets and gave their ID's to the guy. He took them sharply and looked them over, comparing the pictures to the boys' faces. After a moment or two of pondering, he handed them back.

"You may go in," he said, pulling aside a large black velvet curtain to allow the boys entrance.

"Sora, you'd better be right about the girls."

XXX

Axel followed behind Demyx who followed behind the bouncer named Xaldin. Demyx's friend, Marluxia, apparently ran this place, and idolized "The Flurry of Dancing Flames", Axel's pen name. Because of this knowledge, Axel had a superior smirk on his face. One would describe such a thing as an ego trip.

Looking around the bar, the first thing Axel noticed was the many different colored… flowers. Red, orange, yellow, green… pretty much all the colors of the rainbow and anything else in between. There were flower pots hanging from the ceiling, on the bar, on the tables… everywhere. _Well, if that's what this guy likes, then... _Axel's thoughts were interrupted by someone stomping on his foot. Another observation: it was extremely crowded in there. With hardly any room to move, it was no surprise that if Axel hadn't have been following such a big guy, he would have had to brush shoulders with people, and perhaps compete with other people for the right to even breathe.

Last observation: the paint. _Whoever painted this place was either color-blind, or a genius. _The floor was wood, of course, but painted in a vast array of blues and yellows. The walls were striped with greens and pinks and the ceiling was orange.

The entire dance floor was lit only by black lights, the DJ stage was black, decked out in flowery glow in the dark designs that you could find on the side of a VW microbus in the 70s. Disco balls and strobe lights sent the spectrum of color into the air like a rabid bear. Artificial smoke oozed through any empty space there was. On the opposite side of the room, the bar was darkly lit and decorated in the same black light theme, with live flowers everywhere. The entire placed smelled like floral incense.

Xaldin lead them to the opposite side of the room where there was a set of black iron stairs with arm rails striped in a glaring glow in the dark hot pink. The stairs lead up to a small balcony that was dotted with a few individuals who looked more like business men than ravers. The upper area was lined with doors, obviously rentable to VIP costumers for their personal use. Axel was both afraid and yet extremely curious to find out what would be in one of those rooms. At the end of the aisle of the balcony, there was an ornate door perpendicular to all the others. Xaldin lead Demyx and Axel to this door. He rapped on it with his knuckles and then pressed his ears to the door. He must have heard something that Axel didn't, because he then opened it and showed the two in with a flourish.

Axel blinked a good many times instead of gagging at the visual…display. The entire room was pink, including the goddamned carpet. It was a light, bubble gummy pink carpet, the walls a flamingo pink with the ceiling a bright fuchsia. All the furniture was jungle-type green with black trimming, and in every corner of the room stood a small little table with more flowers, ornately arranged. From the wall opposite was a large desk, with a coffee table standing in the area between, flanked by a couch with two arm chairs on their ends on each side. The room was perfectly symmetrical. And there was the Marluxia behind the desk.

The man was tall, and well built, his face slender and almost sinister. Around his face was shoulder length, straight, pale pink hair that was almost the same shade as the man's skin. His eyes were a pale, icy blue that were slanted upward. He wore a black business suit that was trimmed in green stitching with a bright pink tie at his chest. _I don't think I've seen a man so fucking gay in my entire life! _The man stood up, smiling with his eyes softly laying invisible hands all over Demyx. Demyx was fast approaching him with arms open wide for an embrace, smiling with just as much enthusiasm.

"Demyx! My petunia, I'm oh so glad you could come!" Marluxia said in voice that was just as flowery as the décor. He hugged Demyx tightly.

"Oh but of course!! Wouldn't have missed it for the world," When the two of them drew away, Marluxia stroked Demyx's hair fondly before turning his head gracefully over to Axel with half closed eyes. His eyes widened immediately with excitement. He looked Axel up and down.

"Why, this must be the Flurry of Dancing Flames!" he exclaimed, his eyes twinkling with eagerness as he and Demyx migrated toward him. It was then that Axel realized that Xaldin had left, closing the door, and somehow leaving them in silence, with the latest technology in sound proof walls no doubt.

"This, Marluxia, is Axel, The Flurry of Dancing Flames," Demyx announced grandly, pride in his voice. He flashed Axel a look of sheer confidence. Marluxia outstretched a long arm with perfectly manicured nails at its end towards Axel, who grasped it. They held a sturdy handshake. Marluxia just beamed at Axel.

"I've always wanted to meet you; I absolutely love your work. You're really quite talented."

"Oh, well…thank you. It's quite the event to be making your acquaintance, "Axel managed to sputter out, not sure how to take the compliment. Marluxia seemed to be tickled pink by it anyway.

"Could I possibly ask you to give me your autograph?" Marluxia begged, clasping his hands together. Axel assumed that Marluxia wasn't a practiced business man.

"Uhh…sure."

Marluxia almost squealed like a girl as he went to his desk and picked up a large parchment type piece of paper and an expensive looking fountain pen and brought it back to Axel. He handed the pen to Axel who held it awkwardly. He then carefully scrawled his name on there. "Axel, the Flurry of Dancing Flames" near the bottom right corner where Marluxia directed him to.

"Could I maybe get a picture of us?" Marluxia then asked, leaning towards Axel like a flirty girl, smiling like an idiot.

"Absolutely."

Then here came a magic trick. Out of now where, Marluxia summoned a tiny digital camera out of the inside of his jacket, hugged Axel next to him, and placed the camera above their head heads.

"Smile!" Axel managed a boyish grin before there was a tiny little flash and Marluxia pulled away just enough to peer at the little screen on the camera. _What's he gonna do? Post it on MySpace_? The camera then disappeared back inside his jacket.

"Come, sit down!" Marluxia took Axel's arm and pulled him towards his couch, Demyx following behind, hoping to grab some attention. "So Axel, tell me. How do you like my bar?" Marluxia plopped down on the couch, Axel falling beside him, Demyx taking a place across the coffee table on the other couch, grinning his head off.

"It's…really colorful. And… you certainly have a lot of flowers."

"Yes, I absolutely adore it. Who was your designer?" Demyx got out, acting the savior to Axel who was growing more and more uncomfortable.

"Designer! For God's sake, Demyx. Use your brain. I designed it myself. Honestly…" Marluxia sent a playful glare at Demyx, which caused laughter to erupt between them. Axel only joined in so they wouldn't realize that they were the only ones laughing. From there the conversation went from flowers, to gardening techniques, to gardeners, to male fashion models, a youth named Riku, to old men, and finally to pedophiles, all with Marluxia sending provocative glances towards Axel like a naughty Christian school girl.

"So, Axel, tell me," the pansy began, "where do you get your inspiration?"

"Mostly from experience," Axel said simply, giving Marluxia an aloof look.

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really," Axel cut the man off, not wanting to go in the direction that he could feel the conversation was going. "Like Demyx here. He's going to be joining me in my business as well. I'll be helping him out there at my agency." The attention all went onto Demyx who smiled modestly and waved off Marluxia's sudden bubbling of 'Why didn't you tell me!' and 'You'll do so wonderful!'

"Well, Axel's really the master. He's working on…isn't it your ninth novel?" Demyx inquired.

"Yes, my ninth," Axel smiled, feeling a headache approaching.

"You know Axel, we really should get together sometime and tell me about some of you writing secrets," Marluxia oozed, his hand playing suggestively on Axel's knee.

"Oh, if only I could find the time," Axel flashed a smile at Marluxia before standing up.

"Where you goin'?"

"I'd like to stretch my legs and get a drink," Axel tried to smile innocently back at the two lounging on the couch. Demyx picked up his anxiety and nodded to him to go.

"Would you bring back a French Martini?" Marluxia asked, beaming again, in a disgusting manner.

"I'll make sure it gets up here," Axel waved at the two before opening the door and stepping out.

The sounds and smells of the bar all came back at him in a rush. He welcomed the life that thrived in the room, the pulsing of the music and the chaos of all the bodies and movement. For a moment he just looked down into the throng of bodies moving together like a sea of lust and energy. Holding onto the rail tightly, he closed his eyes and let the atmosphere around him take over his senses. Marluxia might be one dull dude, but his bar was something else. Some life returning to him, Axel looked back down into the crowd. _I wonder if he's still here…_

Axel made his way back to the stairs, scanning the crowd for the boy with blonde hair and blue eyes like that of a hurricane of passion, music, and melancholy. Those eyes were poetry in the realm of monochromatic art. They sang like Langston Hughes and droned like Poe. Axel wanted to find that boy. His eyes searched everywhere as he walked up to the bar, trying to snake through the bodies that danced, and rubbed and urged. Finally he broke through the peace of the bar and picked himself a stool to place himself upon. He motioned over to the bartender, who then edged his way over.

"Can you get me something strong?"

"Sure thing."

"Oh, and Marluxia would like a French Martini sent up," Axel remembered to mention, hoping that if the man got drunk, he wouldn't notice his favorite guest's absence. The bartender looked at him for a moment before nodding. He gave Axel an odd looking drink of a thin bluish color.

"Drink it slowly, or you'll regret it," the bartender advised before yelling at a bus boy to take Marluxia his drink. Axel took the advice well and sipped at it to inspect it. Its taste was actually pleasing with a soothing sensation, but he could feel the alcohol. He looked over at the bartender who was farther a ways down the bar. And wouldn't you guess who was there.

He sat there looking like he was sulking; drinking what looked like water, staring off into space with a dissatisfied look on his face. Axel slowly took in the scenery. The blonde's hair was quite the event, styled in strange curves, framing his face and sticking in the air to the right side of his head. His clothing was perfect for his eyes, brought out by intense dark lashes that clashed with his striking blonde hair. He also observed a black ring on his right forefinger. The boy then turned to meet Axel's gaze, seeming somewhat shocked to see him there. All Axel could do was smile. _Hey, blue eyes…_

XXX

As soon as Roxas and Sora had got into the bar, Roxas had regretted it. The place was filled with nothing but guys, and it reeked of too many colors and flowers. Everyone was dancing, grinding or jumping around to the music, a few people moving in between the dance floor and the bar.

"Oooh yeah," Sora chanted, absorbing the environment, "the girls will be here in no time." Roxas just looked at his friend like he was insane. For a while, they both just smashed the decorations of the place, having to constantly yell at each other to be heard. Roxas kept insisting on leaving, but Sora wouldn't budge, convinced that females would indeed show up. It was when Roxas was about to plant his fist in his friend's mouth that this girl walked up to them.

"Yeah, you guys wanna dance?" she had long blonde hair, some great looking legs, and cute face, with a jaw that was rather square. Sora grinned, and walked toward her, beginning a conversation. Smelling danger on the horizon, Roxas grappled at his friend's sleeve.

"Sora, I don't think that's such a good idea…"

"Hey man! Don't mess with a good thing," Sora grinned at Roxas, motioning to the blonde who was giving them both innocent and curious looks.

"Are you comin'?" she tugged at Sora's arm.

"Yeah baby, I'm comin'!" Sora grinned at her cheerily as he shook Roxas off. Roxas just stood there looking defeated. With a sigh, he went over the bar, and sat down with a thud. The bartender finally came around.

"Hey, could you get me a Bud Lite?" Roxas asked, trying to pull of that 21 year old look. The bartender didn't buy it.

"You got an ID for that, sonny?" he said dryly as he did the classic bartender thing and dried a clean glass before putting it away behind the bar. Roxas just glared at the man.

"Get me water then, will ya?" The bartender nodded at this and brought him back a plain glass of water. Roxas took it, glad for something to help cool him down, the bar being a little warm for his liking. It was near midnight when Roxas had finished what seemed his hundredth glass of water, feeling all washed out. He needed to go take a piss, but was afraid of what he might find in the bathroom, and he was pretty sure his ass was asleep. _What in the world could possibly be taking him this long?_ Roxas looked over his shoulder to look in the group of dancing men, not finding his friend anywhere. With an exasperated sigh, he turned back to the bar and ordered another water. _When he gets back here, I'll kill him._

It was when the bartender moved over to another man on the bar, that Roxas looked over. There he was again. The green eyed red head that had walked into the bar like he owned it. _Flurry of Dancing Flames or something, whatever that meant._ To Roxas's great surprise, the red head was looking right at him with great intensity. He looked absolutely thunderstruck, which was how Roxas felt. Then he smiled. Roxas was suddenly reminded of the first time Naminé had smiled at him all those years ago, and a swelling happiness and fear spread through him. It was the same sensation. His hands began to sweat, he couldn't blink, couldn't breathe, couldn't move.

Then the red head got up, walked over, and sat next to him.

_Holy shit._


	2. Chapter 2

**Fire + Treadmarks**

**Chapter 2**

Axel and Roxas sat there a moment just looking at each other; Axel with that stupid grin on his face. For a moment, it seemed as though nothing was going to happen. Finally, Axel's instincts kicked in and he parted his lips to finally say something.

"Hey--"

"Spiky hair!" Roxas blurted out rather suddenly. Axel simply blinked in surprise at Roxas, who looked a little surprised at himself. His eyes were wide for a moment before looking away in what must've been a little shame. _Why on earth did I say that, of all things?!_ Roxas thought to himself.

Axel cocked an eyebrow. _Nice observation_.

"You're not much to talk. Do you have access to a comb or a brush in the morning when you get out of bed?" Roxas glared daggers at Axel for this, which Axel found to be slightly amusing. _Okay, retaliation doesn't seem to be the best course of action_. "That was a bit harsh, but I didn't come over here to throw around insults. What's your name?" Roxas relaxed a little bit, letting his guard down to give Axel a little more of an open-minded observation.

"Any reason you want to know?"

Axel smiled, "It's just generally how you start a conversation."

There was a moment's hesitation. "Roxas… what's yours? I don't think it could really be 'The Flurry of Dancing Flames'."

"Nothing gets by you," Axel started sarcastically before changing his tone. "My name's Axel. Nice to meet you, Roxas." Then he smiled again. _It's that smile with the butterflies and the… what's this feeling?_ Roxas got nervous again when Axel smiled, and tried to start the conversation up once more.

"So uhh… why are you here?" Roxas inquired. It was the only thing he could think of to ask.

"Well, I'm here with a friend who wanted to introduce me to the owner of this place, but I couldn't stand being in the same room with that guy, so… I came down here and ordered this lovely drink," Axel explained. He was quite talkative as of right now, a sign that the alcohol in his blue-tinted beverage was getting to him. It didn't take much to get him drunk since his figure was so slender, even though he was tall. He swirled the liquid in the glass with his forefinger before taking another sip. "Why are you here?" he finally said.

"Same reason as you. A friend," Roxas chuckled to himself before continuing. "Only some girl went and dragged him off, so I'm kind of alone."

"A girl, you say? That's interesting…"

"Why?"

"Oh… no reason," Axel laughed. Roxas quirked an eyebrow, his suspicions rising about the blonde girl. He'd had a bad feeling about her from the start. "So what do you—"

"So what do you do?" Roxas asked. Axel stopped in mid-sentence because Roxas had just asked the question that he was about to. _Great minds think alike? Something like that._

"I'm an author," Axel started, wondering if he should go into detail._ Nah, I won't say quite yet. _

"What about you?" Roxas looked around the colorful room before answering.

"Uhh… I'm a racecar driver. Yeah, I—"

"Just how old are you anyway? I mean, you're drinking water," Axel's question was sudden, and random, which made Roxas nervous. Especially since it was about his age.

"I'm… uhh… how old are you?" Roxas threw back the question.

"I asked you first," Axel returned, smiling playfully. Roxas narrowed his eyes and grinned slightly.

"Nuh-uh. I thought it first," Roxas attempted to retaliate.

"No you did not," Axel returned, squinting in a sly manner. Roxas looked like a porcupine on the verge of bristling. He opened his mouth like a little child about to shout, when they were interrupted a coughing fit had by the bartender who apparently was very close. Roxas and Axel sent him death rays via vision. The bartender turned away coughing a little with an amused look on his face. When he had finally reached a safe distance away, getting another man a drink, the two turned their attention back to each other.

"I'm 25," Axel said after a moment of understanding looks. _Don't want to get the little guy too upset._

"Oh…" Roxas pondered a moment how to politely not respond, and finally resolved that there wasn't a way. "I'm 17, going on 18..." He trailed off, unsure of the wisdom in letting this stranger know his age.

_Underage and illegal_. Axel took a swig of his beverage to hide the smirk on his face and drown the chuckle that was rising in his throat. He looked away for a moment to ease the tension that had risen. Roxas seemed to have appreciated this momentary pause.

"So, you're a racer?" Axel said, tilting his head slightly in hopes of engaging the blonde haired, blue-eyed wonder.

"Yeah…for a while now," Roxas responded a little awkwardly. Axel couldn't help but smile at his obvious nervousness and unease. _It's not like he's not cute enough for people to try and pick him up on a regular basis._

"Really, how long?"

"About 10 years. I only got into it seriously about 5 years ago," Roxas replied, starting to get this far off look into his face. He was thinking about it.

"So you've been doing this for a while?"

"Yeah. When I was 7, I went to a birthday party at some amusement park and they had some go carts," he began, a kind of feverish passion accumulating in his voice. "When it was my turn, I really got into it. I loved the feeling. I begged my parents to let me drive more. I really got hooked. When you get into the big cars, it's like nothing else. I had so much experience driving that getting my driver's license was a breeze." Axel chuckled at Roxas's wistful look.

"It's your passion, then," he commented, realizing that he had finally finished his drink. He placed the empty glass down on the bar.

"Yeah, guess so. I mean…everyone's got their dreams, right?"

"Definitely." The two of them smiled for a moment.

"So is writing your passion?" Roxas ventured forward, this time, he was the one who looked playful. Axel returned the playfulness.

"It is. It's about the only thing I really did when I was in school," he offered as a reply.

"What exactly do you write?" Roxas started to look genuinely curious. _Danger there_. Axel thought, smiling all the same.

"Novels," Axel said simply. He wasn't going to let out too much information when Roxas was finally opening up a little bit.

"What kind of novels?" Roxas asked, obviously unsatisfied with Axel's answer and beginning to look mischievous enough to fight the truth out of him. That thought made Axel almost want to tell him anyway, but was spared. Out of the crowd burst Sora, distressed and panicky. His eyes scanned the bar for Roxas, panting, perspiration making his undershirt stick to him. Upon seeing his friend, he ran up and grabbed his arm. He butted in between Roxas and Axel, oblivious to their conversation. Roxas looked at Sora like he popped up from behind the bar itself and Axel regarded him like Avon saleswoman who had appeared up on his doorstep.

"Roxas…that…that wasn't a girl! We gotta get outta here!" With that all said and done, Sora jerked his friend up out of his chair and away. Roxas gave an apologetic look over his shoulder to Axel who had stood up off his bar stool almost as he was going to chase him. Roxas looked truly upset to go, and Axel felt the same way to see him leave. Soon, Roxas was lost amongst the swarm of male bodies, his lack of bulk swallowing him as he tailed after Sora. Axel gave a disappointed sigh. _Well Roxas…I look forward to your company in the future._

"Axel!!" Axel whipped around to see Marluxia snaking through the crowd as effortlessly as though he owned the place, which he did. Demyx followed behind him, his slightly taller head declaring his presence like a beacon. "Axel! My tiger lily, have you been down here all by yourself this entire time?" Marluxia oozed, resting his hand on Axel's shoulder.

"Yeah…pretty much." Axel decided against revealing his fleeting interests, not wishing to see Marluxia's envious side. "And I think I'm going to go. This place is great, but I have things to do in the morning." Marluxia gracefully took the denial of Axel's presence and put on a cheery smile.

"Well, don't spoil yourself now. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing!" Marluxia recited the proverb annoyingly, Axel forcing a smile to crack his face in two.

"Indeed, I shouldn't," at this Marluxia caught him in a strong, manly hug and released him with feigned dramatic reluctance.

"Do come back, and soon!"

"Oh don't worry, I will," Axel half lied. This place was pretty bearable without Marluxia making it his hunting ground. Axel paid the bar tender and headed to the door, glancing over his shoulder just in time to see Marluxia and Demyx begin off in another direction. Axel welcomed the peace and solitude that his car would offer him, feeling as though the evening was not the best it could have been.

XXX

"Quickly, Roxas, don't stop moving, come ON!" Sora said hurriedly, shoving his friend through the doors of the bar.

"Geez, Sora, what's the rush? That girl, I mean guy, isn't following us or anything…" Roxas said, trying to calm his friend down.

"Not taking any chances," were the only words that Roxas got out of Sora until he noticed that Sora relaxed considerably. Nervously, Roxas addressed the issue.

"Dude, Sora, are you okay? I mean…you look pretty shaken up. What happened?" Roxas asked as they entered Sora's car. Sora looked over at Roxas nervously before responding.

"Well…for a while we were just dancing. Ya know, just kinda getting' familiar with each other, right? He told me his name was Tracey. Well finally, things began to get too intense for the dance floor, so I took her…him, to the bathroom. And we kinda messed around for a while, but…then some guy came in." Sora paused, his face twisted in agony of the memory.

"And?!" Roxas finally spurted out, curiosity eating at him.

"And then the dude started asking about a threesome. I got kinda disgusted, so 'Tracey' got me outta there, I don't remember how exactly, but then he went and rented one of the rooms on the top floor. So…we go up there, and I'm all really hyped up. We kinda get back to things, edgin' around to it. I finally got around to pushin' his skirt up, because I was getting pretty horny... and there it was…" Sora finally trailed off, looking truly mortified. Roxas sympathized for his friend, even though he should've figured, but he decided to not point out that little fact.  
"Man, the worst thing was, I thought that I was finally going to lose my virginity," Sora suddenly said, sounding quite disappointed. Roxas would have laughed had this been any other situation. It didn't matter to Roxas whether they talked or not, though. He kept reminiscing about his and Axel's talk at the bar. It hadn't been a very deep conversation, but for some reason Roxas could remember all the movements that Axel made along with his laugh, his smile, his voice, his eyes… _Why am I remembering that kind of stuff about him? I mean… why does it matter? _Roxas's thoughts swirled inside his mind, his feelings going from confusion, to happiness, to nervousness, to contentment, to… Sora cleared his throat.

"Hey, Roxas," he started.

"Huh?" Roxas blurted, coming back to reality.

"You… won't tell anyone about tonight… will you?"

"Hmmm… I'll have to think about it," Roxas teased his best friend.

"C'mon Roxas. Don't," Sora warned. Roxas took Sora's serious tone as a hint. Besides, he didn't feel like getting into a fight with Sora.

"Of course I won't, man. You can trust me."

"I know," he finished as he pulled up at Roxas's house. Roxas stepped out of the car and said a quick goodbye to Sora before shutting the door. He heard Sora back up and drive away. Roxas stood out on his lawn for a moment, looking up at the stars, before going inside. _I wonder if I'll see him again…_

XXX

_I wonder if I'll see him again… _The stars above Axel's modern apartment seemed to insert those thoughts into Axel's conscience. He sighed as he turned the key in his door and pushed to open it. He walked into the dark place, flinging his keys where he always did and kicking off his shoes. He sighed again as he walked past his bedroom and over to the computer room to work on his story once more. _It's going to be a long night…_ Remembering the conversation he had with Roxas didn't help him concentrate at all on what he was supposed to be doing. Instead, he kept thinking about Roxas's squinty-eye glare when he asked if he had a comb or brush. He chuckled to himself before focusing.

"What was I thinking? I don't have a brush, either."

XXX

_What is that? Uggghhh… shut up…_

"WHAT THE—"Roxas jerked himself into an upright position on his bed. Looking wildly around the room, his sapphire eyes landed upon his tiny alarm clock, which was beeping at him non-stop. He mashed his hand on top of it, hoping some part of it would hit the 'off' button so the infernal thing would be quiet. _It's Saturday… it shouldn't be ringing. I guess I forgot to turn it off._ Sighing, he lurched out of bed, unable to fall back into sleep. Roxas had always been like this. Whenever he woke up is when he woke up, he could never bring himself to go back to sleep.

"What to do, what to do… It's six o'clock on a Saturday morning. There's nothing to do, what am I thinking?" He looked around his room, nonetheless. His eyes fell upon some shorts and a few t-shirts he'd never gotten around to putting away. _I guess I'll go for a run. _The drowsy feeling of waking up so early had left him almost completely now, and he was quite energized.

Dressed in blue shorts and a gray t-shirt, Roxas tiptoed out of his room, careful not to wake up his parents whose rooms was just down the hall from his. Once he was down stairs, he eased up a little , thinking it was safe to walk normally. Walking into the kitchen, he saw his parents who were both already awake and eating. 'They're already awake?!' Roxas sighed and his head drooped. _All that sneaking for nothing._  
"Good morning Roxas," his other said cheerily.  
"Hi Mom," Roxas greeted her casually.  
"Were you trying to sound like an elephant because you were awfully loud waking up and coming downstairs," Roxas's dad said, while turning a page of the paper we he was reading. 'He looks like one of those cliché dads from the movies.'  
"From miles away, honey," Roxas's mother said, smiling. "Now, eat some breakfast." She shoved a plate of food in front of him.  
"It looks really delicious Mom, but I want to eat when I get back."   
"If you insist."  
Planning on stopping by the store on the way back, Roxas grabbed his wallet and set off at a smooth pace down the street. With hardly any traffic on the streets near his suburban home, only the sounds of the neighborly birds, squirrels and Roxas's periodic footsteps could be heard. The morning was cool as it always was in the early spring. Roxas felt himself relaxing from the morning's abrupt awakening, the undulation from his leg muscles seeming to pumping a sedative throughout his body. Roxas began to let his mind wander.

_He never did answer my question. _Axel crept back to his thoughts. Roxas let go a heavy sigh, frustrated at how the red-headed-green-eyed stranger seemed to splatter across his thoughts like all those abstract paintings Roxas saw on that fifth grade field trip. He had dreamt about the Flurry of Dancing Flames (whatever that meant) during the night. Roxas couldn't have told what he had dreamt about, but he was there. Everywhere. He couldn't decide if he had been in a room with Axel wallpaper or if Axel had stood over him like statue in a church all night long. Axel was just _there. _

Splash.

"Ahhh!" erupted from Roxas when he stepped in a puddle. After regaining his balance, he rounded a corner and let his thoughts drift some more. _He made me feel the same way that Naminé did. But that was a long time ago. _

You always remember your first love, or so they say. Naminé was Roxas's first serious crush. She was a girl who many guys had taken a liking to. With intense blue eyes as striking as his own, pale blonde hair and a charming figure, Roxas had fallen deeply infatuated with her. She was kinda quiet, and she drew a lot. She always talked about wanting to become an artist. Roxas had listened to words of such wistful thinking and couldn't believe how in the world she could doubt her abilities.

"_You're the best artist I've ever seen! Of course you'll become famous one day."  
"Oh, I hope I do. There's nothing else I want in the world!"  
"Nothing?"_

"_Well…not everything, but it's the most important thing I want." _

"_Me, I want to be a famous racecar driver someday! And they make a lot of money. That's the most important thing I want."_

"_That's great Roxas! You race so much now. I bet it's not a far cry to say you'll go professional."  
"Not necessarily. There's a lot of competition. I'll have to work hard and be really good to get well known."_

_"Yeah. The same goes for me. We both have so far to go."_

_"Yup! We sure do. Naminé…don't you think it'd be great if we could work to get what we most wanted…together?" _

_"That'd make me really happy, Roxas."_

So much for young love. Naminé had become a famous artist even though she's still in high school. But the one twist in the great master plan was that she was with Kairi. Kairi came to their school their freshman year of high school, and she was just as beautiful as Naminé. They both became really good friends, better friends that anyone had guessed them to be. Roxas had never expected Naminé to change her feelings towards another girl.

Three years later, and now green eyes had taken Roxas's thoughts hostage.

By the time that Roxas came to the end of his run at the local corner store, Roxas's shirt stuck to his back through all the sweat that coated both. His breath came in huffs and his legs felt like gelatin. He took a moment to catch his breath and compose himself before walking into the store. A quick glance at his watch showed the time to be 6:34. The familiar little sound of a bell jingling came to his ears as he open the door and headed in, pulling his wallet from his back pocket.

_It's Sora's birthday in a couple weeks… I should think about getting him something. He loves this little store, so maybe I'll find something for him. _He pulled out a little slip of paper from his wallet on which he had written a list of Sora's favorite things. He reviewed the extremely vague list of items and decided that he would just guess on what to get his best friend by impulse.

The products on the shelves of this store didn't scream 'Sora' to Roxas at all, but as he turned to leave, he glanced a rotating display of key chains. _Perfect! _Roxas smiled. He'd hit the jackpot. Sora loved to collect key chains, and Roxas felt like a suitable present would be to add to his already large collection. Picking out about ten that Roxas was confident Sora didn't already have, he made his way to the register. He paid for Sora's presents, then turned toward the door, and noticed the figure standing in front of it. _Hayner…_

"Roxas, Roxas, Roxas, how ya been, buddy?" came his antagonistic greeting. He strode in with that Hayner Swagger which was the cherry topping the cake of annoyance for Roxas. The dude had pale blonde hair which he slicked back…and upward. It really was a strange hairstyle, but somehow he managed to carry it off well all the same, with brown eyes that smiled that cocky smile all on their own. He also seemed to love camouflage. He wore it everywhere. His car was even decked out in the dark green pattern. Behind him came in this large kid with dark hair and dark, intelligent looking eyes. Already at Hayner's side was this really cute girl in orange who looked like the other boy's sister.

"Hayner…how goes it?" Roxas let out in a stony voice, his good mood immediately ruined.

"All's good here. Have you met Pence and Olette?" Hayner motioned to the boy and girl behind him. Pence nodded and smiled while Olette waved at him a little nervously. Roxas nodded to them each in turn.

"What are you doing here at this hour, anyway?" Roxas asked coldly, his attention returning to Hayner.

"What? There's a certain time we're allowed to come to the store? Well, if you must know, we came to get some drinks for this party I'm having this weekend. You're welcome to come if you want, and pick up some guys," Hayner teased. He could tell Roxas was offended by the insult to his sexuality by the way his fingers twitched and his lips pursed together.

"No way would I be caught dead at one of your parties," Roxas retorted. Hayner changed the subject. Satisfied with the result of his first insult.

"So…you ready for the preliminaries for the Twilight Cup?" Hayner asked casually, fingering some of the key chains on the rotating display. "Only two more weeks of preparation. Time certainly closing in on us, isn't it?"

"Yeah, guess so. Should be a breeze." _Whoops_. Mistake number one.

"A breeze, huh? I know you'll certainly feel a breeze when I pass you by, again and again and again. Do you plan on letting me pass you up that much, Roxas? I had considered you the only worthy competition." Hayner erected to his full height, his face quite horridly cracked in that stupid, self-confident, I'm-going-to-pound-you-into-the-ground grin.

"Are you kidding? The breeze will be from every time I pass you and feel all the hot steam you're blowing off when you can't even find the gas pedal," Roxas rebutted, his anger and pride tightening in his chest as though someone had taken a hold of his lungs and squeezed them in a fist. Mistake number two.

Hayner tightened his own hands into fists.

"What are you trying to say, ass-wipe? Do you really underestimate me that much?" Hayner had taken a threatening step towards Roxas, his eyes ablaze. Roxas stretched his own back towards the heavens and took another step up to Hayner himself, their eyes coming level with each others.

"I think it's me you underestimate, Hayner."  
"The racetrack is one thing" Hayner grabbed Roxas's shirt collar, and tried to push him back. "But that's not where we're at right now. You sure you want to underestimate in other areas as well?" Roxas just lifted his chin to look down at Hayner, keeping his cool as best he could.

"It doesn't matter what you do, Hayner, I can top any effort of yours with only a tenth of my effort."  
"Oh, so does that mean you only use a twentieth of it when racing?"  
Roxas snapped and grabbed Hayner's shirt with both hands, snarling. He was about to…well, Roxas really didn't know what he was going to do, because at that time, the cashier nosily cleared his throat, looking at the two boys nervously. Olette reached up and put her hand on Hayner's shoulder, distracting both of them.

"Hayner," she chimed in with a soft and gentle voice, "This isn't the time or place to do this." She was looking steadily into Hayner's eyes. Hayner flicked his attention to Roxas, who was looking at Olette a little perplexed. She also switched her gaze onto him, giving him the same intense glare of 'don't'.

"Course not, babe. I wouldn't waste my time." Both boys loosened their grips on each other, and finally let go, a little reluctantly. "I'm mean, it's just _Roxas._" The two boys exchanged icy cold death rays back and forth.

"I guess we'll finish this at the Twilight Cup preliminaries?" Roxas inquired, doing his best to swallow his anger and keep his voice even.

"Yeah…see you in two weeks," Hayner said, sounding as though he was having just as much trouble hiding his anger. Hayner then walked passed Roxas, the other two filing behind him. Hayner slipped his hand around Olette's waist and began walking around with her at his side.

"God willing," Roxas muttered as he walked out the door and back onto the street. He glowered as he crossed the street, setting off at a swift pace along the sidewalk in hopes of getting home to a hot shower, good food and peace of mind.

XXX

Axel awoke in his bed to the feeling of his shirt being pushed up, however, when he opened his eyes, the usually dim room was void of any light, so he couldn't see who it was undressing and caressing him.

"Demyx?" he asked aloud. The only answer he received was a single finger being pressed against his lips. _That's not like Demyx… _When the figure began kissing his neck, Axel's thoughts were only confirmed. _This isn't Demyx. _For Demyx was usually rougher than this.

Axel attempted to reach over to the person, but his arm was firmly, and yet gently, held down by the figure's hand. When the person moved its body on top of Axel's, he could tell it was male. Axel was still a bit disoriented from having just woken up, but he was beginning to panic. Demyx was the only person who had a key to his apartment, so who was this man? What was he planning on doing?

The person began gradually working his kisses down Axel's neck and onto his chest and stomach. As this happened, Axel was slowly starting to stop wondering who this man was and beginning to just go along with this situation. _I might enjoy this…_ Then, as if the man had read his mind, he released Axel's arms and allowed them to explore his body. Axel felt the smooth skin of the figure's back, then came to his strong, but somehow, young shoulders. _He doesn't feel that much older than me, most likely younger. _Axel had ways of telling things about people without speaking to them; this was one way. The figure shifted lower, which caused butterflies to enter into Axel's stomach and twitter around because of how far down Axel's body he was getting. A sigh of pleasure escaped him as the person began unzipping his pants. Axel's hands moved to the figure's hair which was oddly styled, off to the side…

"Roxas?"

Axel bolted straight up in his computer chair only to be met with a sharp pain in his back and neck. _Was it just a dream?_ He looked around the little yellow room, half hoping for Roxas to jump out at him. When this didn't happen, a feeling of disappointment came over him. _At least let me finish my dream…_ He slowly rose out of the chair, his back aching from the odd position he had fell asleep in. He saved and closed the chapter he had finished in the earlier hours of that morning and went down the stairs, which he nearly tripped and fell down from his drowsiness.

Entering the kitchen, he glanced at the clock on the wall which told him it was 10:08am. He flipped the coffee maker switch to 'On' and went to the couch to watch the Weather Channel. The closest thing to the news he got to. Because one has to admit, the Weather Channel can be quite entertaining at times.

As a commercial came on, Axel began to walk away to retrieve his precious purple mug from the cabinet and pour in the, what he thought was heavenly, coffee. When he returned, the sound of roaring cars filled his ears. It was a commercial for a race, something called the Twilight Cup. Axel's initial thoughts were uninterested and he almost changed the channel until the memories of his dream and Roxas came flooding into his mind. He set down the remote to think. _What if I could find Roxas there? He said he was a racecar driver, right? _As his plan came together in his mind, an excited smile lit up Axel's face. He might be able to see Roxas again, even if it was just at a glance.

He hurriedly retrieved the telephone from its place on the wall and dialed the number on the TV screen to order tickets for the race. Apparently, as the salesperson on the phone told him, he had bought two of the last ten tickets they had. It seemed a little cliché and movie-like to Axel, but he didn't care, as long as the next step in his plan worked. _Now, for my next act…_

"Demyx," He said as soon as the phone was answered.

"Axel?" Demyx asked in a somewhat surprised voice. "Uhh, what's up? Good morning."

"Good morning," Axel said, remembering his manners then forgetting them as soon as he did. "You're coming with me to the Twilight Cup. I'm assuming you know when it is. Since you like that kind of stuff, I thought I'd invite you," he demanded. Demyx was coming whether he liked it or not, he had to.

"Really? You got tickets? That's aweso--, wait, why do _you _want to go?"

"Let's just say… that I can't wait, I've got to act. Got it memorized?"

"Uh yeah, sure," Demyx said, a little confused. "It's in two weeks, right?"

"Yeah. I'll talk to you more about it later, okay?"  
"Okay, I—"

"Bye."

"Bye?" And with that, Axel hung up with a satisfied smile across his face. His plan was working out magnificently.

So far.


	3. Chapter 3

**Fire + Treadmarks**

**Chapter 3**

"Hayner, that cock rag, he must have driven his mother into a vegetated state when he was a child," Sora muttered to himself as he lounged in the passenger seat of Roxas's car, an electric blue Jaguar XJS 1992. It always put a sour taste in Sora's mouth to think that such a hot ride was just _given _to Roxas. It had been his father's car of choice but some how the man went insane and decided to give it to his son.

Roxas scoffed in remark to Sora's comment, his mood one that made him aloft to the world. The car, the road, and the stars up above spoke to him in a language that Sora was deaf to. It was late in the night, making everything around them dark hues of black and orange, with the occasional lights along the highway making an unwanted white mar on the atmosphere. Roxas reattached himself to reality long enough to reply, "Either bless her soul or condemn it."

The rest of the ride continued in silence with Roxas's intensity and Sora's mild zoning as he stared out onto the city's landscape. It wasn't until Roxas got off on an exit and drove into the parking lot of a large building that the atmosphere was broken.

They both stepped out of the car and walked toward the building, with long strides and stone-set faces. They slipped through a door way or two, climbed some stairs and walked past the stands of the stadium to the railing. Roxas grasped the iron balustrade in front of him and stuck his head over, gazing out on what lay before him.

"Here it is, my domain."

Stretched out far under his master's gaze, was the dark curved track. A great oval in which one's fate could become putty in their hands, or a prize just finger tips out of their reach. This was Roxas's hunting ground of his own vocation, and Hayner was his counterpart.

Roxas leaned forth and then back, stretching his arms out, breathing in the air that smelled of asphalt and gasoline. He closed his eyes and imagined the scream of the engine, the pull of the inertia and the roaring of the crowd's enthusiastic cheers. The steering wheel under his gloved hands. The stick shift to his right. The pedals under his feet. His car wrapped around him in the encasement of sensations.

Sora stepped up to railing and leaned on it with his elbows. "Tomorrow's gonna be quite the day, isn't it?"  
Roxas's eyes snapped open as his hypnosis was broken. His eyelashes fluttered a moment as he switched realms, a sight Axel would have squirmed to see.

"Yeah…It's gonna be something, alright."

"How did you qualify yesterday?" Sora continued, scraping at the edge of some paint on the railing.

"I got the second pole position," Roxas said with controlled calm through lowered lashes. Sora didn't need to ask who had made the best time and acquired the first pole position.

"The Twilight Cup Preliminaries… then the Twilight Cup. Are you ready?" Sora inquired, upturning his eyes to his friend. Roxas continued to gaze out over the track like a sailor watching the sea.

"I'm ready to kick ass. Let's go, Sora," last words said, Roxas released the railing from his rapturous grasp, and turned back the way he came, Sora in step behind him, and determination waking his path.

XXX

The morning brought a feeling of excitement and anxiety to our sleep-deprived author. All last week Vexen had kept him up with reviews and corrections for his book. Demyx also seemed to be a little more clingy than usual. He called about twice a day rather than twice a week. Axel didn't mind, however, Demyx was entertaining to be around and talk to, but he couldn't help but feel like something was wrong with him. He didn't inquire about it, though. Demyx would tell him in time.

As the red-head stiffly rolled out of bed and hobbled over to his closet, a slight and unfamiliar panic came over him. _What do I wear? _Axel had never particularly cared what he looked like in front of others. He was naturally sophisticated and manipulative, so it had never really mattered, but now he couldn't stop thinking about what Roxas would think of him. _What would he want me to wear? Something bright, subdued, tight, loose? _His thoughts continued like this as he tried on polo's, t-shirts, long-sleeved shirts (which he decided it was entirely too warm for), jeans, shorts, sandals, sneakers… Finally, he decided on a black t-shirt with a flame on the left sleeve, jeans and black shoes.

"This will have to do," he sighed. Feeling much more like a five year old about to go on a field trip instead of a 25 year old man just going to a race, Axel slid down the railing of his stairs, grabbed a granola bar and his keys, and left the building to go pick up Demyx; a bounce in his step. Of course Demyx could always drive himself, but it was likely to be crowded at the stadium, so carpooling was the most logical choice of action.

Ten minutes was all it took to arrive at Demyx's apartment complex. Not wanting to have to waste time and go inside, he pressed the speed dial number for Demyx on his phone.

"Y'ello?"

"Your chariot awaits you, my lord," Axel joked.

"Oh, it's you," Demyx said with feigned apathy.

"I see how it is," replied Axel with a smile. "Get your ass down here; you're going to make us late."

"_Me_? Make _us _late? You're already behind 20 minutes!" It was true. Axel had thought it safe to ignore his alarm clock when it had originally gone off. Not to mention the amount of time it took for him to get dressed.

Axel heard the faint noises of keys and footsteps on the other side of the phone. When he saw Demyx come out of the building, he hung up and got out of the car, walked to the other side and opened the passenger door. Demyx wore a sleeveless deep blue t-shirt, with denim shorts and comfy sandals. Once the weather began warming up, he always seemed to be dressed for the beach.

"After you, sir," Axel said with a mocking smile.

"Fuck you," Demyx said with a laugh and entered the car.

"You know you want to," Axel smirked and closed the door, hiding a slightly blushing Demyx. As he entered the car, Demyx felt as if Axel could feel the heat radiating from his face so he smashed his face against the cool window, earning a raised eyebrow from the red-head next to him. They drove without talking; Demyx occasionally changed the radio stations once his face was back to its normal color until they arrived at Sunset Stadium about 45 minutes later.

The stadium was an open-roofed dome, tan in color with blue, yellow, purple and pink here and there – the colors of the sunset. There were winding stairs leading to the rows and rows of seats that turned out to be entirely too close to each other.

"We're here," Axel nudged the dozing Demyx in the seat next to him whose aquamarine eyes snapped open. Those eyes were really quite something. _But nothing compared to Roxas's… _Axel couldn't help but think.

Exiting the car, they both made their way to the ticket stand. The man working there was a heavy man, with black hair parted in the middle and slicked to the sides with gel, and an equally cheesy mustache. He sported a yellow and green coat, something that made Axel cringe, but he smiled nevertheless.

"Hi, I have two tickets reserved under the name 'Flames'," Axel rarely used his real name for, well, anything. After a couple minutes of the pudgy man rummaging around, he revealed a manila envelope, and inside were two tickets. He handed them to Axel who accepted them with a smile.

"You two almost didn't make it, I was obligated to sell those tickets if you were any later!" the man said. Demyx gave an 'I-told-you-so' look toward Axel who 'tch'ed and smiled.

"Well, thanks for not selling them," Axel finished and walked away, grabbing Demyx's arm so he'd follow. They walked up the winding stairs until they came to a row of concession stands at which Demyx _had _to get a hot dog.

"Axel, you really should eat more, I mean, you're like a toothpick," Demyx observed as he was putting ketchup on his dog. Axel shrugged and kept looking around, not expecting to see a certain blonde person, but hoping to do so anyway. Once Demyx was done, they walked to the row and column where their seats were located.

Getting comfortable in their seats, Axel gazed out onto the track. Cars began to line up as they came out of the pits, following the pace car. First in line was a greenish car, closely followed by red, white and black car. A rather unexciting blue car came in third, with a lighter shade of green in fourth. The line continued in a array of colors that Axel didn't bother to count.

The stadium suddenly filled with the great sound of an announcer's voice echoing off every wall, "**_Welcome ladies, gentlemen and all you racing fans out there to the Twilight Cup Preliminaries!!"_**

XXX

"Ciiiiidd! He didn't do it right!" Sora mumbled quite loudly in a whiney voice over to the crew chief. The man groaned, the age of his years dragging out in the creases of his frown. His short cut blonde hair was pale, as were his cold blue eyes that were too soft to be icy, but they sure felt that way. He twisted his tall and muscular frame to look over at the younger boy who was pouting over his shoulder at him.

"See? It's on crooked. No one is gonna be able to read the letters on the tire!" Sora whimpered some more.

"Doesn't matter kid, now get outta here," Cid grumbled in a frustrated voice while fingering the goggles on his forehead, wishing the sun wasn't so bright and whiney voices weren't so annoying.

"But it's bad for advertising! How are the-" Sora squealed before he was cut off by Cid's gravely voice.

"I said it doesn't matter, kid," Cid grumbled again, working the cigarette butt sticking out of his mouth.

"You're just a crew chief! What would you know about advertising anyway?" Sora grumbled to himself, jutting out his bottom lip.

"Damn right I'm 'just a crew chief', and I'm your friends crew chief, so if you want him to do well, you'd better leave me alone!" Cid roared at the boy, the cigarette butt flying out and knocking on Sora's cheek next to this nose. Sora just looked at the older man blankly a moment before letting the demeanor of a rebellious teenager cause him to turn around and pretend to ignore Cid.

Cid tugged at the collar of his red polo shirt with a band of black white checks across the chest that clung snuggly to his form.

"Roxas, you'd better keep your idiot friend outta my hair."

Roxas walked up, zipping the top of his racing jumpsuit. Its chest was banded with black and white checks as well as on the cuffs of his sleeves. Bold vertical stripes of red slashed the outer edges of Roxas's limbs. Various symbols and company slogans were splattered on his chest and arms, in what was supposed to be an artistic fashion. He looked quizzically from Cid to Sora and gave an exasperated sigh.

"Sora, you gotta give Cid room to snort and roar if he's to do his job," Roxas said patiently, reining in his own frustration as he stepped closer to the brunette. "If you don't leave him alone, he won't let me let you in here."  
Sora blew some air out of his nose before responding, "Ah, that old geezer doesn't mind me as much as he likes to make us all think." _I think you got it backwards. _Roxas thought to himself.  
"But don't worry," Sora continued. "I'll leave him alone enough so that he won't pull out the little hair that he still has."  
"He's not that old…" Roxas began when the attention of both boys was drawn back to Cid, who began cursing at one of the crew members who had been tightening the suspension.

"If he's not old then why is he senile?" Sora whispered, leaning over closer to Roxas.

Roxas just hung his head, letting his shoulders droop. He shook his head slightly and responded, "I dunno, but he's pretty ingenious for being senile."

"Yo, Roxas! Get your ass in this car!!" Cid yelled over to Roxas. He slipped on his gloves, matching his jumpsuit, before sliding his helmet over his head.

He trotted over to his car. Its bottom edge was done out in red, with another checkered band slicing through its horizontal middle, also framed in red. Two red lines rode up the hood and down the back with a black-lined red-lettered number thirteen crowning the roof and flanking its sides. He slipped inside the car and fastened himself in.

"Get out of here and onto the track, now!" Cid roared again.

Roxas connected his foot to the gas pedal, drove out of the pits and onto the track. _I'm not going to let you beat me. _Driving out, Roxas got caught in the masses of other racers that were rounding the track at a leisurely pace of 65mph. In front of him stood only Hayner's car, in its camouflage design and the pacer car ahead of him.

An announcer's voice boomed across the stadium, making the stadium seem to vibrate with its electrically intensified energy.

"**_Welcome ladies, gentlemen and all you racing fans out there to the Twilight Cup Preliminaries!! The top forty best local racers will be competing to finish all 150 laps first! Only half of the original racers will continue on to the annually anticipated Twilight Cup making today one of the most important races of the year!! This year's top five starters are #08; Rick Jeffson, #74; Geoff Marx, #37; Cameron McGomery, #13; Roxas Oblivion, and #02; Hayner Richardson!!"_**

The crowd erupted with enthusiasm with the race on the brink of beginning.

Then the pace car pulled off to the side as the green flag came down. All the engines roared in a great unison of mechanic battle cries as the race officially began.

XXX

"Here we go!" Demyx said, excitement lacing his every word. His blue eyes are especially bright now as the action was just about to happen, and Axel imagined he was shaking like a bomb ready to explode with energy.

Focus returning to the race, Axel's eyes never left the general vicinity of Roxas's car. He could tell that the other three cars were nothing compared to number two and Roxas. He glared at the electric yellow numbers of that camouflaged car, almost wanting green lasers to shoot out of his lime eyes, wreck this car, and allow Roxas to pass it. His concentration, however, was thrown off by a brunette teenager scooting past him and taking a seat next to Demyx. He looked into the deep blue eyes of the boy as he grudgingly said, "Excuse me."

He thought nothing more of it and looked back to the race; Roxas was still behind the camouflage car.

Then it clicked. _You know my baby!_

Axel did a double-take of the boy who'd just angrily plopped down next to Demyx. He studied the boy's face for a moment. _Those eyes…_ True, they were nearly the same as Roxas's but, different, somehow. Nevertheless, Axel recognized the boy as Roxas's friend who'd drug him out of the bar just when Axel thought Roxas might open up to him a little.

Axel wanted to talk to him, badly, but he knew that the kid would probably think him a freaky fan-boy type if he'd just come out and ask about Roxas. Keeping his silence, he turned to the race, but kept glancing at the boy, watching him.

XXX

"THAT'S IT, KID, GET OUT OF HERE," Cid yelled at a somewhat surprised brunette, who stared dumbstruck for a second.

"WHAT'D I DO?" Sora boomed suddenly, a courageous feeling leaping up within him, only to be immediately driven out by the next look that appeared on Cid's face. It was like that of a strangled lion. His blonde hair seemed to be sticking up on end and his face was growing redder and redder the more he stared at Sora.

Sora, of course, had done nothing to warrant such a furious reaction. All he'd been doing was reenacting a fight from a video game he'd been playing; rolling around using a crow bar for a sword. Cid, obviously, did not find Sora's rolling on the ground amusing.

Sora fell silent and allowed himself to be pushed away by another member of the pit crew. He took a passage way back to the stadium. _This sucks… _he thought as he surveyed the stands, hunting for an empty seat. Finally, after about ten minutes of searching, he'd found an empty seat between a large man who'd painted his face blue and a man who sported a dirty blonde mullet.

He climbed the concrete steps with crossed arms, seeing as how he was still fuming at Cid's intolerance. Sora came to the row and inched past a man who he named 'Spiked Strawberry' and the other simply named 'Mullet'.

"Excuse me," he grunted, not forgetting his manners. Sora was always good natured, even when he wasn't in the best of moods. He glanced at the emerald green eyes of Spiked Strawberry and felt like he'd seen this person somewhere before, however Sora was too caught up in his mood to think of it much more and threw himself into the seat between Mullet and the newly named 'Blue Whale'.

XXX

Roxas eased a little more pressure onto the gas pedal as he rounded a curve and came onto the straight-away. Just in front of him, Hayner was on the inside and crossed over to the outside of the straight-away, Roxas close on his tail. The next turn became fast approaching and Roxas eased towards the inside. He gained some ground on Hayner, the front end of his car leveling with Hayner's back tires. They both then leaned into the turns. A feeling of slight pride rose in Roxas as he managed to hold the inside edge all the way around the turn.

In the distance Roxas heard the announcer; "**_And #13 is inching up on him on the inside!" _**A bead of sweat itched Roxas's head and he readjusted his grip on the steering wheel, unable to scratch it. Both Roxas and Hayner roared down the straight-away, Roxas getting his car to level his front tires with Hayner's back tires.

They both violently turned to the inside, hugging the turn every inch of the way in the ferocious battle for the lead. Down the next straight-away they went, Roxas barely gaining ground, but still gaining it. At the next turn, Roxas turned in, but held his ground, cutting Hayner off. He was in the lead.

Roxas swallowed to wet his dried throat. Cid's voice buzzed in his ear, "Good job kid. Now keep going that way. We're at 113 laps. Keep it up!" Roxas nodded, even though Cid couldn't see him.

XXX

"Whoo-hoo! Go Roxas, YEEAAHHH!!!" Sora jumped up in the air and swung his fists around, nearly planting them in one of the cheeks of Blue Whale, who angrily jerked his head away. "He pulled into first!"

"Oh nooo…" came a disappointed voice beside him. Sora swiveled to his side to glare at the person who would dare show support for the vile and hated Hayner. _Figures…_Sora thought as his eyes fell on Mullet, looking at the race track like a little kid whose quarter had washed down a man hole. "Richardson lost his place," Mullet whined as he began to look a little angry.

"Who?" Spiked Strawberry turned to Mullet, those viper poison-green eyes reflecting Sora's own feelings.

"Hayner Richardson," Mullet began to explain to his incandescent friend. "He's a rookie this year, but he's the best driver out there. Did you see how he started out first? That means that he got the first pole position, which is pre-determined depending on what time all of the racers get before-hand at the practice before the race. Which means he's the fastest racer even when he's not racing. He's one hell of a driver."

"He's one hell of a cheater!" Sora blurted out suddenly in rage. Both Mullet and Spiked Strawberry gave him quizzical looks. They started at him blankly as Sora began to fluster, "He may look good, but he drives pretty dirty. If you watch him, he cuts people off a lot and will purposely get in the way of other drivers even if it puts him at a disadvantage. And his driving manners are reflected in his speech too." The little speech left Sora slightly flushed and angry, his bottom lip pushing upward, scrunching his entire face into a pout.

"You've talked to Hayner Richardson?" Mullet asked him, a little awestricken.

"Yeah I've talked to him a lot," Sora replied simply.

"Wait, so you know Hayner Richardson?" this time Mullet was really excited like a puppy in a meat factory.

"I don't _know _him, but yeah, I know him," Sora said, letting a little superiority show in his voice. "Ya know what I mean?" A pair of black and blonde eyebrows cocked at him as Mullet and Spiked Strawberry both declared "No" in unison.

Sora rolled his eyes and he began to explain, "What I mean is, I'm friend of Roxas Oblivion's and I know the competition."

Spiked Strawberry seemed to have been told that Sora killed his entire family or something because he began to give him a really intense look. He looked really eager, like a tiger about to pounce on a little toy poodle or something and rip it to shreds.

There was an ominously strong and steady tapping dug into Sora's little more than bony shoulders. He turned around to be staring face to face with Blue Whale. "Yes?"

"Do you know McGomery, #37?" the man asked in a loud gravely timber.

"Uh…not really man. Sorry. McGomery is the best of the 'above average' guys, but Roxas and Hayner are in a differently league, totally," Sora politely explained.

"Oh," Blue Whale said, sitting back in his chair. Sora rubbed his shoulder and then turned away.

"That is wickedly awesome that you know Richardson," Mullet practically oozed over into Sora's seat with him. "Do you think you could get me down in the pits?"  
"Doubt it. Roxas's crew chief kicked me out, which is why I'm up here," said apologetically. He was all for hookin' people up with back stage passes and stuff, but Mullet was S.O.L.

"Oh okay…Oh by the way, I'm Demyx," the mullet-headed blonde thrust his hand out for Sora to shake his hand, which Sora did happily. Spiked Strawberry turned back to the race, glaring. You could almost see the bright green dagger emitting from his eyes to car #02. "And since my buddy here is feeling anti-social, I'll introduce him. This is Axel." Axel simply waved a hand at him quickly.

"Come on Axel! Make a little noise, cheer," Demyx encouraged his friend. "WHOO-WHOO!! GO #02!! RICHARDSON ALL THE WAY!! GET BACK IN FIRST!!"

Sora sensed an opportunity for a happier day with a little friendly competition and joined in the rallying, "#13 DOMINATES!! KEEP IT UP ROXAS!! THAT'S THE WAY TO DO IT!! LET IT BURN! WHOO!!" Sora and Demyx began shouting more at each other than at the racers as their excitement soared.  
"HAYNER'S GOIN' DOWN!!"

"#02 GONNA WIN AND YOU KNOW IT!"

"LIKE HELL HE IS!" There was another series of powerful tappings on Sora's shoulder, drawing the attention of the enthusiastic fans back on the large guy with a blue face.

"Hush up," he commanded in a rather frustrated sounding voice. He didn't look all that threatening, with his tight girth wedged in between the seats, but his arms looked thick, hard and heavy. And both Demyx and Sora's head were in easy range of them, causing them both to settle down into their seats.

XXX

Roxas glided along the track, Hayner right on his tail. But Hayner was on his tail, instead of him being on Hayner's tail, and that was all the difference. 127 laps down and only 23 to go. Roxas felt confident. Undaunted. _I'm going to win. _

Behind him there was the unmistakable sound of a car hitting another. It was followed by more sounds like it and the screeching of tires on the pavement. Panic took a grip of Roxas for a moment as the crowd roared in shock. Cid screeched in his ear, "Watch out there Roxas. They're showing a yellow flag so be ca- WATCH OUT!"  
Hayner's car was bumped and hit Roxas's tail, causing him to spin out of control and onto the grass. Roxas blinked as things came back into focus only half a second later. Hayner was already moving back onto the track. Growling, he switched the car into gear and chased after him, ignoring Cid's buzzing in his ear. _Damn it! _Vaguely he heard Cid commanding him to get into the pits, but he didn't listen. He trailed after the back bumper of Hayner's car until he too pulled into the pits by the command of his crew chief.

Rolling into his own pit, he anxiously waited for his tires to be changed and gas to be pumped as Cid yelled and ranted in the window about not doing what he was told and it being dangerous and some crap like that. As soon as it was done, he fired away back onto the track. Hayner was already moving up, and he covered ground quickly, but he couldn't get in front of him.

_Fuck! _Roxas hit his steering wheel in frustration.

XXX

"Oh no…" Sora and Axel sighed unanimously; worried expressions on their faces as they witnessed the number two car take the lead.

"HAH! In your face!" Demyx yelled triumphantly. He rose out of his seat to do a little victory dance, but Blue Whale had sent Demyx a look that commanded him to sit down again.

"Do you know that guy?" Demyx whispered in Sora's ear, motioning toward Blue Whale.

"No, but he's kinda creepy, right?"

"Yeah, dude."

"Monstro," came Blue Whale's voice. Sora jumped in surprise.

"Huh?" Demyx asked rather dumbly.

"That's my name. Just thought you should know if you're going to talk about me." Demyx and Sora flushed and fell silent. Axel snickered at them, earning himself 'oh-be-quiet' looks from the other two.

_Click. _Sora's eyebrows raised and his mouth opened to let out a gasp. Axel and Demyx faced him, waiting for the thing he looked like he was about to say.

"I know you guys!"

"You do?" Demyx and Axel asked, looking at each other then back at Sora.

"Yeah! You two were at that gay bar me and Roxas accidentally went to!"

"That's 'Roxas and I'," Demyx corrected him, a little sheepishly.

"Uhh…yeah, that's what I meant, " Sora said, furrowing his eyebrows at Demyx thinking _Who cares?_ Sora thought for a moment as Axel and Demyx remained silent. Demyx's silence was brought on by his trying to remember if he'd seen Sora, while Axel's was brought on more out of anxiety. _Accidentally…? _

"Accidentally? Does that mean you're not gay?" Demyx asked rather bluntly. Axel put his hand to his face. Demyx had pretty much told this kid they were gay and Axel didn't want Sora to get the wrong impression of him so early in their meeting, since he was a close friend of Roxas's.

"Hell no!" Sora said defensively. Then he caught on. "But you guys are, aren't you? Are you… dating or something?" A look of apprehension appeared on Sora's face, as if the two men next to him might start making out any second. Sora didn't now if he could handle that. Demyx opened his mouth to say something, but Axel spoke first.

"No, we're just friends. You can relax, "Axel said just as defensively. People who reacted this way to homosexuals had always annoyed him.

"Oh… sorry," Sora apologized, taking the hint. He watched as Demyx's excited expression fell a little, then smiled weakly, as if Axel had somehow hurt his feelings. The red-head didn't notice, however, and smiled slightly at Sora's apology. He thought that this would be a casual enough time to ask what he'd been wanting to.

"What about your friend… is he straight?" At this, Sora looked as if he was going to burst into a fit of laughter, but screwed up his face so that he wouldn't, causing his reply to come out choked.

"Roxas? Gay? I don't think so! He had this huge thing for this girl Naminé, but what she did to him… it was bad, man…" he trailed off, watching the smile on Axel's lips fading the whole time. The red-head looked away, not caring about whoever this Naminé girl was, but if Roxas still had something for her.

"What'd she do?" Demyx asked eagerly, apparently oblivious to Axel's withdrawal.

"She left him for another girl," Sora said simply in somber voice.

"Oh man…that's rough," Demyx said with a little awe.

"Yeah, well…he deals with hard things well. A real fighter, ya know?" Sora explained, trying to lighten the mood.

"Looks like he's fighting now," Monstro commented suddenly, taking everyone aback. And indeed there was a good deal of drama on the track.

XXX

Roxas hugged the curve on his 147th lap, blinking his eyes hurriedly to keep the perspiration out of his eyes. He was right on Hayner's tail and he was having to exercise an immense amount of control to not reach out with his battered car and ram into Hayner's rear bumper. They both raced up on to straight away and roared down it's length, each one fighting for every inch. Roxas wasn't going to gain the lead and he knew it.

Cid tried to say something in his earpiece, but Roxas was in no mood to listen to him as he followed Hayner's ass as closely as he could. He let out a demonic roar to drown out Cid's voice. Cid broke off and Roxas could only imagine his face, but he didn't care.

The green flag was brought down. 149, the last lap.

Hayner and Roxas veered into another turn, pulled off and head down the next straight away. He didn't blink and he had trouble breathing. His chest was heavy and constricted as they turned into the next turn, feeling the inertia tug at him. Roxas caught his breath, as Hayner pulled off the turn just a tad too early, giving a Roxas an opening for the lead. Roxas pushed into the small space as his hear leaped. Hayner then veered out in front of him, cutting him off. _Damnit! Damnit! Damnit! _Roxas punched the steering wheel before he hugged into the last turn and sprinted down the straightaway across the finish line.

He followed Hayner as they both slowed down on their way back to the pits as the other racers roared across the finish line behind them. Roxas throat was extremely tight as he rolled into his pit, his eyes continuously blinking. He swallowed, trying to wet his dry throat as he climbed out of his car. Immediately Cid took a hold of his arm.

"What the hell do you think you were pulling out there?! You put yourself into some serious shit of trouble! Are you even listening to me? Do you even give a damn? Roxas?!" Cid was yelling while his face turned red while Roxas seemed coaxed into a infuriated blank state of mind. Cid gave him a shake, breaking him away from his hypnosis. In a whirlwind, it all came back to him. Hayner had won.

Again, Roxas roared in a beastly fashion, taking his helmet off and slamming it down into the ground. It bounced away, probably cracked. Roxas just stood there and watched it roll away back into a cool state of passionate anger.

"Get yer ass over here," Cid grumbled gruffly, grabbing Roxas's collar and dragging him over into a more secluded part of the pit away from the car. The crew gave them a reasonable area in which to talk, not wanting to get in either one's way.

"What don't know what's gotten into you, but it'd better get out and quick." Roxas looked away from Cid, trying to ignore him.

"Don't you ignore me, boy!" Cid roared, smacking the side of Roxas's face. "If you want to pout like a damn bitch, you can go home to do it and never come back." Roxas glared at him venomously. "This is a serious business. Those people-" Cid pointed to the emblem of Roxas's sponsor, McDuck Industries, " pay a lot for you to race because they think you got something going for you, but NO ONE is gonna pay hundreds of dollars for some obnoxious kid with an ego the size of China. Now what you pulled was dangerous, and if you ever do it again, I'll convince everyone I know in the racing business to never let you touch a steering wheel again? Do you hear me? Boy, you really gotta learn to mind your elders." Roxas shrugged away from Cid glancing at the pit next to his where Hayner was talking to his crew chief, Seifer. They looked pretty proud of themselves.

Cid continued to give Roxas a scrutinizing glare. "Get yer ass outta here. I'll see you on Wednesday, and with a better attitude."  
Roxas walked out of the pit to go change his clothes.

XXX

"Well, it's over," Axel said simply his brow furrowed in a somewhat disappointed manner.

"Whoo! And Hayner won!" Demyx cheer gallantly.

"Which means that if I know Roxas, he's gonna be in a mood," Sora hung his head in a reluctant manner. "Well…I'd better go. Gotta get back down to the pits." He flashed a smile at Demyx and Axel. "It was good talkin' to you guys. Lemme know if you come to the next race?"

"Yeah, sure! But I have no clue how to get a hold of you…" Demyx pointed out. The two boys quickly flipped out their cell phones and exchanged phone numbers. Sora then stood up, his chair making a good deal of noise as it closed in up on itself. Sora yawned and stretched as though he had just gotten out of bed.

"Monstro," he nodded at the large, blue face-painted man as he passed him. He turned back to wave at Axel and Demyx as he began to climb the stairs back to the entrance. Demyx waved back enthusiastically.

"Well, let's try to beat the crowd to get outta here," Demyx proposed as people began to stir after all the post-race commotion.

"Sounds like a plan," Axel said as the two stood up. Axel began to walk forward, coming into surprising halt when he bumped into Demyx who was bent over at the waist. His hands were on the ground and his butt up in the air with Axel leaning over him trying to regain his balance. Axel's eyes popped open wide and blushed a bit. _Really now…we're in public. _Demyx got back up and looked back at Axel, clueless.

"Look," Demyx held up a cell phone. "It's Sora's." He looked at the cell phone and frowned. "He doesn't have my number anymore!"

"Give it to me," Axel said hurriedly as he snatched the phone out of Demyx's hand. He held it in his hands like it was glowing with divine light and Angels were singing in the background. _This phone has Roxas's number in it. _His eyes grew wider and wider the more he thought of all the opportunities that had just falling into his lap; or rather, his hands. Demyx's voice sent the divine light away and made the Angels silent.

"Um, Axel… are you okay?"

"Huh?" he replied dumbly, green eyes regaining their focus. Demyx began searching the stands for Sora.

"We should probably return it to him…"

"No!"

"What?" Demyx asked, confused.

"I mean, he's probably already gone by now… how about we go to the next race and give it to him? It would give us a chance to go down to the pits… right?" Axel made this excuse rather nervously.

"Yeah, but…"

"Okay, so it's a plan!" Axel began pushing Demyx toward the exit, ignoring his protests ("I can walk on my own, Axel!"), out to the parking lot ("You nearly ran into that elderly woman!"), and into the car ("You're treating me like the criminals on COPS."). He speedily drove Demyx home, thankful that there were no police on the way for he surely would have been pulled over. Demyx was quite freaked by Axel's sudden bizarre behavior, causing him to forget about Sora's cell phone and with a quick 'see ya', high-tailed it back to his apartment.

Now that he was alone, Axel took a deep breath and, more calmly, drove to his home. Once inside, he took his time making himself comfortable, as if he were putting something off. He took off his shoes, changed into some comfy basketball shorts, made a smoothie, and paced the house around ten times, all the while staring at Sora's phone on the counter. _Well, now what? _Did he dare call Roxas? Did he…

Ring!

The sudden vibration of the phone on the counter caused Axel to jump about a foot in the air and nearly spill his pinkish smoothie. _Sora's phone is ringing. _Panicking slightly, he walked closer to the phone and looked at the caller ID ("_How unlike me."_). _Donald? Who the hell? _He let the phone ring, not having heard of this 'Donald' before.

He paced some more, nervousness growing now that his smoothie was running out.

Ring!

_Again? _He looked at the screen of the phone again which said, 'Mom'. Axel ignored it again, not having the heart to speak to Sora's mother about returning the boy's phone. He put his glass in the sink, the smoothie gone. Axel looked around for something to do; trying not to look at the phone which seemed to be staring at him accusingly from the counter, as if it knew he'd purposely refrained from returning it to its owner.

"I'm sorry, okay?" he apologized to the phone, then smacking his palm to his forehead. Why on earth was he talking to a phone?

Ring!

"Geez, this kid is popular…" He glanced at the phone's screen again, this time his eyes grew wide and he froze, not because he had brain freeze from drinking his smoothie rather quickly, which he did, but because of the name and number that was flashing repeatedly at his face.

"Roxas."

* * *

"To all of those who were agonized by the long wait of this chapter update, we apologize profusely. Between school and writer's block, we had to really struggle to get this done. So we really hope you enjoyed our efforts and had fun reading this chapter. Lots of new faces appeared in this chapter as well; Cid, Seifer, that struggle judge dude (or whatever his name is) and even Monstro! We're already working on the next chapter so please continue to be patient with us.

-Xaijul & Darknessborn"


	4. Chapter 4

**Fire + Tread[marks**

**Chapter 4**

Who would've thought that a little mechanical device that transmitted sound waves could be so frightening? Axel wasn't easily frightened in the first place. Scary movies were a pleasant delight, Halloween wonderful, bad dreams a joke. Even when his parents lost him in the mall when he was a child, he didn't so much as whimper, but here he was frozen with dread at what laid before him here at the mercy of some little phone.

Swallowing the saliva in his throat, Axel reached out to pick up the phone which continued to vibrate in his hands. _I should probably answer it. _He reached to flip the top up but took a moment to think. _What would I say? 'Oh sorry, this isn't your friend but a man eight years older than you who dreams about you in my bed and even stalked you to your race. You may remember me from the Flower Petal; Axel. How are you doing?' What a joke. _

The phone suddenly stopped ringing, the vibrator turned off. The option to face his fears was no longer there. Axel let out a stressed sign as he continued to look at the now still cell phone. _I don't know if that was a good or bad thing. _He set the phone back down on the counter before he turned around to get himself another smoothie.

Suddenly from behind him came a digitalized tune of 'Bow-chicka-bow-wow.' Quickly turning around to inspect the phone from which the sound came from, there was a pixilated picture of an envelope. Curiosity itching at him, Axel then opened the phone. At the corner of the back lit screen it read; 'Messages: 1.'

Axel quickly scanned the room to see if anyone was there to see what he was about to do. Pressing a few buttons here and there, he finally navigated his way to the voicemail inbox. He selected the newest available and then put the phone to his ear.

"Hey Sora, it's Roxas. Look, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I was being a royal ass. Sorry…well…yeah. I'll make it up to you, I promise. Call me back when you can. Later. _To repeat this message press one… _"

Axel took the phone away from his ear, and hit the '4' button to save the message. _What the heck? Is Roxas his friend or his wife? _This left Axel with a somewhat humorous and somewhat frightening thought that he quickly dismissed. _He's got this big thing for this girl Naminé…_He remembered, which would rule Sora out of Roxas's romantic interests.

"Well…what to do, what to do?" Axel mused to himself as he began tinkering with the phone. Call him back or leave it alone. This is what he wanted the phone for, isn't it? To get a hold of Roxas? Well either way, he was going to have to return the phone eventually, or else Demyx would pull his hair out. _I guess it's inevitable. _

Axel scanned through Sora's list of contacts until he came onto Roxas's name. Select. Cell number. It began to ring, so Axel put it up to his ear before he could change his mind and hang up. A few rings later (which seemed like eternity), Roxas answered the phone.

"Hello?"

XXX

Glad to be back in his room, Roxas kicked off his shoes and set his keys on his desk. His parent's weren't home which, while it was unusual after one of his races, he was thankful for. The day had turned out to be pretty cruddy. He and Sora had argued at the race. Roxas hated it when it happened, but he often let his anger out on his friend. Luckily, Sora was a pretty forgiving guy and took it well. But that didn't make it right, and that always made Roxas feel bad.

Sora had come back down to the pits, looking pretty happy, as though he had enjoyed himself.

"Where'd you go?" Roxas had asked, not very surprised that Cid had kicked him out.

"Up in the stands. Ended up sitting next to some guys we knew."  
"Really?" Roxas had asked uninterested as he tied his shoes.

"Yeah. Those two dudes we saw cut in line at that bar a few weeks back. Axel and Demyx," Sora explained happily.

"Axel and who?" Roxas asked, suddenly taken aback. _Axel was here?_

"Demyx. He was the dude in blue who had come in with Axel. You remember?"

"Yeah…" Roxas was somewhat stunned. He wouldn't have pinned Axel the type to be interested in racing much. _Damn and he saw me lose to Hayner. _Roxas's anger had been reawakened with new passion. Getting his things, Roxas had commanded Sora to follow him out to his car. Sora had walked behind him meekly the entire way there, seeming to finally catch on to Roxas's mood. He finally spoke when they got to the car.

"Hey man, what's wrong with you?" Sora dared to ask.

"I lost to Hayner, that's what's wrong!" Roxas blurted, surprised that Sora didn't understand. "I fucking lost to Hayner!"

"Lost to Hayner?! You got second place! What are you complaining about? It's only the Preliminaries, you can-"

"That's not the point, dumbass! I have to beat Hayner every time! What don't you get about that? It doesn't matter what place I get as long as it's better than Hayner!" Roxas had cut Sora off.

"So do it next time and relax. I thought you wanted to go to the Struggle Cup? Since when did beating Hayner become more important than that?" asked in return, angrily.

"Since he started becoming better than me!"

"There's always someone better than you!"

"No, there's always some one better than _you,_" Roxas had finally screamed. Sora didn't retaliate. Sora didn't even move. That had hurt Sora, obviously, but Roxas hadn't cared. He was too angry.

"Just take me home," Sora had gotten in the car and stayed quiet the entire ride back. Roxas had slowly calmed down and began to feel guilty. God, he was a bad friend. When he dropped Sora off, he tried to tell him goodbye, but Sora had just slammed the door and ignored him.

Roxas let himself fall face down on to his bed, letting out a frustrated sigh. He pulled himself up to wrap his arms around his poofy pillow and buried his face in it. He laid there a couple of minutes, letting the calm of the room seep into his skin. _I guess I should call him. _

Roxas propped himself up to dig his hand into his pocket and pulled out his cell. He hit the speed dial that called Sora's phone. It began to ring and he waited. No answer. _That's strange, he must still be mad at me. _Roxas thought. The phone went on to let him leave a voicemail.

"Hey Sora, it's Roxas. Look, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I was being a royal ass. Sorry…well…yeah. I'll make it up to you, I promise. Call me back when you can. Later." Roxas then hung up the phone with a sense of awkwardness.

He got up and walked into the bathroom to take a leak. He then went into the kitchen to get himself something to eat. After looking through the cupboards, he decided to skip on actually cooking and opened the fridge to just grab something. Apples, carrots, milk, orange juice, apple juice, canned fruit cocktail, broccoli, leftover spaghetti and chili.

Aha! A box of leftover Chinese Moo Shu Pork. He grabbed it out along with the half empty orange juice carton. Retrieving a fork out of the drawer, he headed back up the stairs and into his room. Setting the food on his desk, his phone began to ring in his pocket. He fished it out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID; 'Sora'. Automatically, he flipped it open and answered.

"Hello?"

"Umm…Roxas?" an anxious voice answered on the other end.

"Yeah. Who is this?" Roxas asked immediately recognizing the voice to not be Sora's.

"Oh well…this is Axel. Do you remember me?" _Oh do I ever. _Was what Roxas wanted to say, but luckily he had enough self-control to not make a fool out of himself.

"Yeah, yeah. Flurry of Dancing Flames," This caused Axel on the other end to laugh in what sounded a nervous fashion.

"Yeah, I guess you remember."  
"Umm…why are you calling from Sora's phone?" despite his delight, it was an awkward situation that needed explaining.

"Oh, well…you see, Sora sat up in the stands with me and Demyx. Did he tell you about that? ("Yeah.") Oh, he did? Good. Well, he accidentally left his phone up there, and…yeah."

"Oh…" Roxas said, a little stunned. Stupid Sora, he was always losing things. Well, not stupid, just scatterbrained. "Well, do you want Sora's number so you can give it back to him?" _Damnit! Why didn't I just offer to pick it up or something…wait, what am I thinking?_

"Well…uh, would it just be easier if I returned it to you?", Axel offered, sounding a little hopeful.

"Uh…yeah, sure! Sora and I can meet you somewhere," Roxas offered in return, relieved that Axel had thought something along the same lines as him.

"Okay, sure. Umm…where?"  
"Uhh, do you know where Hollow Bastion is?"

"Yeah, that subdivision off of Gummi Street?"

"Yeah. I live there. Why don't you come to my house. Sora's parents will probably freak out if you go to his house. I'll be safe here," Roxas asked tentatively, questioning his own sanity.

"Okay, sounds great. What's your house number?" Axel inquired, sounding truly excited now.

"658 Radiant Garden Lane."

"Okay, can I come tomorrow?"

"Yeah."  
"Okay, see you then."  
"Alright, bye."  
"Bye."

Roxas hung up the phone with a certain sense of awe. Axel had called him. Axel was coming to his house. _What am I gonna tell Mom and Dad?! I gotta get them out of the house! Shit! _Roxas suddenly tried to think of something but nothing was working. He couldn't think. With a sigh, he gave up, sat down at his desk, and dug into his food. He could figure it out after he was done eating.

XXX

"Is this really happening?" Axel asked himself out loud. The fact that he'd actually had a conversation with Roxas on the phone in which he got the younger blonde's house address still hadn't sunk in. Looking at the clock, he realized it was morning already, 4:30 in the morning, but morning all the same. Now that he was awake and thinking about the place he was going to later, Axel couldn't bring himself to go back to sleep. He rolled out of bed, scratching his scalp.

Walking sleepily downstairs and flopping onto the couch, he grappled for the remote in the dark and turned on the TV. _I don't even know what the hell comes on at this time… _He flipped through the infomercials and the soap opera reruns until a certain one caught Axel's eye. The Lion in the Mist… He had no idea what it was about, but apparently it was an eight hour marathon leading to the season finale in which a character would be killed.

Five hours later, Axel found himself crying when Cherie found out she was pregnant and the father wasn't willing to cooperate, and when Lisa found her long lost brother, Thomas.

Another three hours passed and Axel was again patting his eyes with a tissue when Cherie was actually killed off and the father of her child had actually wanted to take care of their baby. _I'll never question why women love these shows again. _He thought.

Suddenly, Sora's phone began ringing from its place the counter where Axel had left it. Jumping up he dashed to it and saw that it was Roxas. Butterflies invading his stomach, he answered the phone.

"Hey, Roxas?" Axel answered excitement in his voice.

"Hi, Axel. I was just calling to ask when you were coming because I finally was able to get my parents out of the house and Sora will be here in a couple minutes…" Roxas trailed off.

"Oh man… it's already 12:30? Wow, I got caught up in this…" Axel didn't finish his sentence. _I can't tell Roxas I was watching a soap opera! _"Um, yeah I'll be there in like ten minutes, just let me get dressed!"

"Okay…see ya then." Roxas said, secretly wondering if this meant Axel had pajamas on or if he was…_Why am I thinking of _that

"See ya!" and Axel pushed the little 'End' button on the phone.

Reluctantly, Axel turned the TV off and headed to the bathroom. _Just as I suspected…_His eyes and nose were red and swollen from crying. He quickly washed his face and then blew his nose one last time. It was when he entered his room that a frightening thought came upon him. _Oh no! I have to decide what to where again! _After quite a bit of nit-picking, he settled with some comfy jeans, the black shoes from yesterday and an olive green shirt decorated with skulls. _Born to kil;l got it memorized? _

XXX

Hanging up his own phone, Roxas looked around the living room in which he stood. A pretty much usual room, decorated with pale tans, off white, beige and luscious wood. Every here and there, his mother had insisted on 'lavender and lilac' accents. The throw pillows on the couch, the rug under the coffee table, the flowers, coasters, picture frames and all the wall decorations fit this description. The room was his mother's pride and glory besides the kitchen. She absolutely adored having company over to show off this room. Roxas was pretty confident that Axel would be comfortable in the room. If worse came to worst, they could always resort to the Gamecube that was huddled next to the TV. Heaven knows he and Sora had wasted hours there.

He had woken up in a sour mood, finding that he had fallen asleep at his desk with an empty box of Chinese food. Immediately hungry, he had gone downstairs into the kitchen, where his parent's were. His mother was doing the dishes by hand (the dishwasher was only used in the evenings for some reason) and his father was at the table reading the newspaper. Cheery greetings had come from them both.

"Roxas, what's that on your face?" his mother had asked him, motioning to his cheek. When Roxas reached up to investigate, sticky, half-dried brown Moo Shu sauce came off on his fingers. He groaned as his father chuckled lightly to himself, turning the paper. That man never seemed to get too worked up.

"You should be more careful, Roxy," his mother crooned as she reached up to wipe the brown goo off his face. "You're gonna need to wash your face to get all of that off."

"I will, I will." Roxas said, waving his mother away from him, "Just wanna eat somethin' first." He went straight for a cupboard to get the Wheaties. His mother immediately got the milk for him and set up his breakfast. When she went to pat his head, she frowned and commented that he needs to brush his hair too. Roxas grunted at her.

"Don't get mad at your mother, Roxas. She's just following her maternal instinct, " his father instructed him from behind his paper.

"Meh," Roxas sat silently for a few minutes eating before he remembered that Axel was coming over, causing him to drop his spoon.

"You okay, dear?" his mother asked.

"Umm, yeah. I was just wondering, what are you guys doing today?" Roxas regained his composure and his spoon.

"Well, I have some laundry to do, and then some gardening. But otherwise, it's a pretty lazy Sunday," his mother mused merrily, all the while drying a dish.

Roxas turned to his father who was stroking his close-cut light blonde beard. "I don't think I have much to be doing today either. Why?"  
"Uh…I was wondering if you guys could…" Roxas struggled to think of something. "Go to the store for me! Yeah…I drank all of the orange juice last night and we need more." Roxas smiled at both of his parents who were looking at him blankly.

"Okay, I can go later…" his mother offered.

"No! It has to be both of you. Cuz…I want to try a different brand of orange juice, and you both need to be there to make sure you get something we'll all like."

"Well, why don't you just go? We're not all that picky about our orange juice.", Roxas's father stated, looking at him from over the edge of the paper with his intense amber eyes.

"I can't. Sora and I are doing something today."  
"Why don't you and Sora just pick it up before you come home?" his mother asked, putting dishes away now.

"Can't, we're not leaving home. We're just gonna rest, ya know? Yesterday was a big day and all so…we just want to have a nice, laid back end of the weekend."

"Well, Roxas, I don't see why-"

"It's okay, dear. It won't be any trouble for us to go do it," Roxas's dad jumped to the rescue. "Go ahead and relax today. Yesterday's race was probably stressful." Roxas was never sure about him. He always seemed to know more than he should, but never told you enough.

A quick rapping came at the door, causing Roxas to flinch, bringing him back to the present. He recognized the sound as Sora's default knocking-noise. He went to the door to allow him in and sure enough, there he was.

"Hey," Roxas said optimistically, allowing Sora in. So far his apology was still only on Sora's cell phone, which he has yet to hear, so there was a somewhat awkward feeling as Sora casually wiped his feet on the rug and wandered into the living room. Roxas followed after him.

"How long till he gets here?" Sora asked him strangely.

"'Bout 10 minutes or there-a-bouts," Roxas replied as he dug the toe of his shoe into the carpet. He figured he should get it over and done with before Axel got here. "Look, Sora. The way I found out that Axel had your phone was because I called to…apologize…for last night. I…was being a jerk."

Sora shrugged it off. "Hey man, it's cool. I know you didn't mean it," Sora smiled meekly at him.  
"Okay, wanna play some Super Smash Brothers until he gets here?" Roxas offered, walking over to the entertainment center.

"Sure!" Roxas tossed Sora one of the controllers and took one for himself. He turned the game and then the TV on. Sora chose Yoshi while Roxas picked Captain Falcon to duke it out. Sora was amazingly good with the more strange characters. His favorites were Yoshi, Jigglypuff and Kirby.

After the third time that Yoshi had sent Captain Falcon flying off into the background of the screen, Roxas checked his watch, and found that twenty minutes had passed. _Where is he? _Sora swiveled his head around to look out the window the couch was under. A strange car unseen in this neighborhood before slowly rolled down the street, pausing at each house. It then rolled into Roxas's drive way.

"I think he's here," Sora mused. Roxas looked out the window himself to see Axel's slender frame get out of the car.

"Yup," Roxas got up and started to the door as the doorbell rang. He opened the door wide to permit Axel in, who grinned at him upon seeing him.

"Hey."  
"Hey, you wanna come in?" Roxas offered. Axel then stepped in the door, looking a little nervous. Sora then jumped out of what seemed like no where right in front of Axel.

"Hey Axel! Long time, no see, huh?" Sora all but yelled smiling like a half-retarded duck. Axel then looked like the bushy tail of a scared cat, except without all the hair and he had a pair of big green eyes.

"Hello Sora…" he finally said slowly.

"What's up?" Sora grinned.

"Nothing…much. What about…you?" Roxas could all but see the cat's tail slowly returning to it's normal size. Axel was obviously still flustered.

"I'm okay. Just kicked Roxas's tail in Super Smash Brothers. Like…50 times," Sora announced bubbly. Axel laughed a little, relaxing a bit.

"Oh really?" he asked.

"Yup! Roxas is absolutely horrible, but he _pwns _at racing games." Sora looked like a second grader at a family reunion or something.

"He _what_?!" Axel asked, flabbergasted. He didn't look like the type who would know about that kind of slang.

"Aw, don't worry about him," Roxas interjected, "He's a total nerd." Roxas walked over to the two others. "Thanks for talking about me as though I'm not there, buddy," Roxas directed a bit of sting into the comment at Sora. Sora grinned innocently and shrugged his shoulders.

"So anyway" Axel reached into his pocket and brought out Sora's cell phone, "I believe this is yours." Sora gingerly took it out of Axel's long thin hand and immediately went to check his missed calls. "I guess it's true that some people can't live without their cells," Axel commented, earning an insulted glare from Sora.

"Well, thanks," Sora finally said after shoving the phone into his own pocket. "Sorry to be a party-pooper, but I gotta go. My mom wants me to do yard work." He then excused himself out of the door, leaving Roxas and Axel awkwardly standing in the living room.

"So…this is your house then?" Axel walked away from Roxas and began inspecting the rooms in an aloof manner.

"Yep, home sweet home," Roxas really didn't know what to say, "This is where I eat, sleep, and get my clothes washed." Axel and Roxas shared a moment or two trying to figure out how to end the awkward silence. They stole glances back and forth at each other when they thought the other wasn't pay attention, thoroughly checking each other out in proper lighting.

"Those pants look really good on you, but your butt would look better if they were tighter," Axel blurted out in an almost matter-of-fact sounding way.

Roxas stared goggle-eyed at Axel in sheer shock. _He __**didn't**__ just say what I think he said….did he? _

"Sorry…what?" was all the Roxas could manage to get out. _He did not just talk about my butt. _It seemed only to occur to Axel what stupidity he had let spew out of his mouth.  
"Umm…that is…Demyx said that about you the other day. He seems rather fashionably challenged himself, but he knows what looks good on other people," Axel spluttered out.

"Demyx said that about me?" Roxas asked, a little freaked out.

"Uh, yeah. The other night at the club. He saw you when we came in," Axel lied quickly. Demyx hadn't even paid attention to Roxas and Sora when they went to the Flower Petal.

"Oh…" Roxas bought the story. "I didn't realize he had…" Roxas gulped, "Checked me out." Axel tried to hide the feeling of petrified amusement that was bubbling up in his stomach.

"It's not that he was 'checking you out' exactly, he just noticed you and…thought your jeans could use to be a little tighter, is all," Axel almost felt guilty making a complete story up about his friend, but then again, Demyx would probably be laughing his ass off right about now.

"Ah…" Roxas feigned understanding, "So you and Demyx do that kind of thing a lot?"  
"Um…yeah, all the time," Axel said carelessly, "He and I are almost always together."

"Oh," came from Roxas, who felt a small twinge of jealousy. _What's wrong with me? No reason to be upset. _He furrowed his brow trying to reassure himself to stop being a wuss.

"That's cool, cuz I mean, Sora and I are always together too." Roxas tried to relate, "It's like I see him everyday, and then some." Axel's fingers twitched inside his pockets, but hid all emotion from his face giving an awkward laugh.

"Guess we're lucky to have such good friends," Axel said flatly. _God, that sounds unlike me. _"Well…Demyx and I don't spend _all_ of our time together. We're two grown men with separate lives, we just hang together when we have the spare time…which…just happens to be a lot." The two of them laughed, to hide the sense of relief they both felt; _Yay, he's single. _

"So what does Demyx do?" Roxas asked to keep the conversation flow going.

"Uhh…" Axel took a moment to think, having been taken off guard, "His job is pretty closely related to mine, actually. Writing." _Damnit…_

"Ah, that's right. What do you guys write about? The same thing?" Roxas ventured further.

"Um…yeah, we--"

"SHHH!!!" Roxas suddenly jumped toward the window and looked out at the drive way. Axel silently exhaled a sign of relief at not having to make up a stupid story. The relief didn't last long however, as Roxas twirled around and said in an urgent whisper,"You gotta hide! My parents are home!"

Axel then felt a kind of panic that he was unaccustomed to. Panic he was used to was a missed deadline. Panic from a few years ago was being lost at night in a city. Having a hangover on the side of the street. This panic he hadn't felt in much a longer time. This was mischievous, _fun, _panic. The panic of a teenager in trouble. It made Axel…_giddy. _

"Don't just stand there! You gotta hide, you gotta get out of here!" Roxas was saying frantically, looking around as though he was just going to stuff Axel under the coffee table and hope his parents weren't going to notice.

"Where aren't your parents going to look? Where will you know they'll stay away from?" Axel asked, trying to act like the mature adult and take hold of the situation.

"Up here!" Roxas ran foreword, attached his hand onto Axel's bony wrist like a giant leech and dragged him up some stairs. At the top of the stairs, Roxas pulled him into a hairpin turn shortly after another, shoving him into a blue room.  
"Stay in here and don't make a sound!" was what Roxas said before he closed the door behind him and thudded down the hallway. Axel rubbed his wrist gingerly, thinking that Roxas could've been a decent track runner as he looked around the room. It was all blue with fish and stars and plants everywhere. It looked almost as though it had been decorated to inspire a child's imagination. But seeing the debris of adolescent boy clothing on the ground with a book bag and other assorted items, made it occur to Axel, that this was Roxas's room.

Peering curiously out of one of Roxas' windows, Axel observed the blonde's parents as they walked inside with a carton of orange juice. He watched as they glanced curiously at his car, sending another twinge of panic to his stomach. 'Wow, I wonder how Roxas will explain that,' he thought.

Once they were inside, Axel's attention wandered to Roxas' bed. The blue bedspread was rumpled and bumpy, as if it had been made this morning without much care. Other than that, it was an ordinary bed. Axel moved towards Roxas' desk papers which were scattered across it along with various writing utensils. Axel opened a drawer and found a stack of sticky notes which had been drawn on to make a rather creative flip book. Flipping the pages, Axel watched as the scene drawn before him came to life.

A stick figure person was flying feet first toward another stick person. The other ducked leaving the kicking person to crash into a wall. The word 'PWNED' came up one letter at a time. The word reminded Axel of Sora, and he wondered if this little creation actually belonged to the brunette instead of the blonde who was doing God knows what downstairs.

Axel set the makeshift flip book down on the desk and treaded lightly over to Roxas' dresser. He paused for a moment before looking inside. _'Do I want to know what Roxas keeps in here?'_ he wondered. Another pause. _'Yes, I actually do,'_ was his conclusion as he opened the top drawer. He was met with the usual socks and underwear but also, many, many issues of a racing magazine called, "Fast Times".

He flipped through a couple of the ads and stories before putting it back into the drawer. The rest of Roxas' dresser was as anyone would expect it to be. Axel briefly felt that maybe he shouldn't be going through Roxas' stuff. A second later, Axel was at Roxas' closet, the thought completely gone.

He opened the door slowly, not wanting the last wonder of the blonde's room to end so quickly. He didn't know how much longer Roxas was going to be, after all. '_What is he doing?_' the red-head wondered. As the door opened even further, Axel heard a rustling behind it. He dismissed the sound as nothing though and opened the door fully.

He was met with an avalanche of junk compromised of unknown heavy and not so comfortable objects. Axel heard footsteps from under his trash prison, they faltered a bit when he'd hit the ground under the pile. A female voice came from downstairs.

"Roxas, what was that?"

"I don't… nothing mom, I just tripped is all…" came the reply. Axel groaned and sat up as the bed room door was flung open and shut just as quickly. He looked apologetically into the eyes which were staring back at him with a mischievous flame in their deep blue cores.

XXX

Thinking quickly Roxas slid down the hand rail of the stairs just in time to plop on the couch and turn on the TV right as his parents walked in the door. He tried to look normal watching an infomercial about some hand-held sewing machine.

"Hello Roxas", his mother said to him cheerily as she sat down next to him on the couch to watch the infomercial with him. "Gee, one of those would be handy, don't you think?"  
"Uh, yeah, sure Mom," Roxas replied half heartedly, trying to think of how to get Roxas out of the house.

"Roxas, whose car is in our drive way?" his father asked him, walking over to glance at the TV. "It doesn't look familiar at all."

"That's our neighbor's friend's car. I dunno why they had to park in our driveway," replied Roxas dully, trying to sound uncaring.

"Well they left us no room," his mother said to no one in particular. "I'll go over as ask Sue to have it moved. It's very rude." His mother got up with a meaningful stance and began to walk towards the door. Roxas jumped up after her.  
"Mom, you shouldn't do that!"  
"Why ever not?" his mother looked at him curiously.  
"Because that's our neighbor's _drunk_ friend," Roxas blurted, feeling like a total idiot.

"And just how do you know that?", his mother asked him, as though he said that it was actually space aliens that had parked in their driveway while taking a detour to the moon.

"Because he was half-naked," Roxas said as though he was stating the weather and his mother just looked at him confused. "Yeah…" he went on, "Now that I think about it, he wasn't driving very well, and he was only wearing his boxers. Almost walked into the holly bush too. I think you might really embarrass the neighbors if you go over there. When he went to their door, they really looked like they were about to die."  
"Oh dear…Poor Sue. She's so easily disturbed, she must be mortified. I won't bother her," his mother said sympathetically. "Ansem, it won't be a bother for us to just park our car on the side of the street, will it?"  
Roxas's father just grunted, scratching his blonde beard.  
"Well, I'll go put the orange juice in the refrigerator," his mother mumbled as she walked away. Roxas took the opportunity to calmly make his way up the stairs to his room to tell Axel of his secret identity. His composure was some jolted when an unfriendly _crashing_ noise of all things came from the direction of his room. _Oh no! What'd he do?! _

"Roxas, what was that?" Roxas's mother called up to him.

"I don't… nothing mom, I just tripped is all…" Roxas managed to explain right before he hastily opened his door. There on the far side of the room were two guilty vivid green eyes staring at him out of under the heap of junk that had magically spawned in his closet after many years of ecstatic boyhood. It looked like Axel had done none other than open his closet, unknowingly, right on top of himself. Roxas quickly closed the door behind him.

Axel began to unbury himself as to stand up, shaking shoelaces off his fingers and even pulling a model car out of his hair.

"Sorry about that…yeah…Curiosity killed the cat, ya'know?" Axel gave Roxas a cheesy smile as though trying to explain the unexplainable. Roxas quickly hushed him.  
"Shhh! No time for that, I need you to get naked!", Roxas informed him impatiently. From the blank and twisted look Axel gave him, he looked as though he had opened another ridiculously filled closet on himself.

"I'm sorry…but…naked? Right here, right now?" was all the green eyed wonder managed to get out. Roxas smacked his head in frustration.  
"No! I mean…" Roxas blushed a little, "I meant to say half-naked!" Axel stared at him a few moments more for good measure.  
"I'm still not following."

"Ugh. Look, I told my parents that you're a friend of the neighbors who drove here half naked and drunk. So…I need you crawl out my window in only your boxers and go to your car and drive away. But you gotta act drunk," Roxas explain hurriedly, all the while blushing in many different fluctuating shades.

"Uh, huh…Smooth," Axel replied after taking it all in. They shared an awkward moment as though deciding what to do. Although realistically, how hard would it be to walk up to a car and drive away? Easy as pie right? Wrong. First, Axel had to undress right in front of Roxas.

"I guess I could…go…give you some privacy," Roxas mumbled, looking as though he'd rather hide.  
"Nah!" Axel blurted in burst of spontaneous urges, "You're fine where you are." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Axel peeled the skull-printed tee off of him. He wasn't about to abandon the opportunity to strip right in Roxas's face. Roxas turned a deep shade of rosy red as Axel undid his belt while kicking off his shoes. He even heard Roxas audibly gulp as he pulled his jeans down to his ankles. Axel did his best to play it cool down to pulling off his socks, but he couldn't hide a pinkish tint to his ears.

With a pile of clothes at his feet, Axel found himself staring at Roxas in nothing but his underwear; red boxers with little curly black hearts printed on them.

_Thank god he was actually wearing boxers _Roxas thought, _instead of briefs. _(Yeah right, we all know what he was really [hoping for.)

"Well…guess I'll be going then," Axel said quietly, breaking the silence.

"Yeah…" Roxas scratched his head. "Good bye?"  
"For now", Axel corrected him, sticking out his hand. It seemed appropriate. Roxas stared at Axel's hand blankly for a moment, as though considering the risks before he clasped it with his own. They shook for a moment, each giving the other weak smiles. Slowly and reluctantly they let each other's hands go. Axel then walked over to window and stepped down onto the roof. He then made his way over to a nearby tree and worked his way down.

_He looks as though he's had practice sneaking out of windows _Roxas thought idly to himself as he watched Axel descend below him out of sight.

XXX

Putting away dishes, Sue was suddenly paralyzed at the strange sight that met her outside her window. Standing in the neighbor's yard was a talk skinny man with strange red hair wearing nothing but red boxers. He was wavering near a tree, looking confused and lost. He began to walk towards the front of the house, but his progress was immediately slowed by stumbling, and swaying side to side. The man took a moment to regain his balance and set about purposely putting one foot in front of the other in what he must have thought was a straight line. The man looked drunk!

Sue put a hand to her chest as though to steady her heart as the man zigzagged to the front of the house. As he passed a window, he saw her neighbor looking out at the man with a look of surprised that must have mirrored her own. She caught Sue's eye and they stared at each other in wonder, both trying to make sense of the situation. They could only look at the man.

He had finally reached his destination. He had approached a mid-sized black car, which looked like nothing you would find on this side of town. Sporty but run down. The man managed to have summoned a ring of keys, which he had to go through, one by one before finding the car key. Leaning foreword slightly, he tried to fit the key into the lock, but almost hit his head on the car, then stepped away unbalanced. He reproached the car and managed to unlock it with greater success and then opened it.

He sat down heavily and began to situate himself in the seat looking satisfied with himself. A quick look around proved that he gotten in on the passenger side! With a clumsy mass movement of limbs, the mand climbed over into the other seat and tucked his legs under the wheel. Looking around again, the man spotted Sue peering at him through her window, which spurred him to wave enthusiastically at her. Flabbergasted, Sue found that she could only wave back. Looking pleased, the man then started the ignition and set the car into neutral, letting gravity pull the car out of the driveway and almost back-ended the neighbor's Chevy, which was parked across the street. He then took off down the road with a roar of the engine and was out of sight.

Sue looked back over at her neighbor, who slowly closed her mouth and swallowed, looking back at her. Sue nodded at her, her neighbor nodded back and a sense of unspoken understanding passed between them. Sue had the idea that they would _never_ speak of this man, for it looked like a very embarrassing thing to have happened at her neighbor's house.

XXX

After Roxas heard the sound of Axel's car driving away, he sighed and turned back into his room. He was walking over his bed when he carelessly stepped on Axel's clothing, having forgotten that it was there. He stared in horror at where he had put his foot; on the sacred clothing. Axel's clothing. But what was more interesting than that was that he had stepped on something hard and lumpy. Carefully, he reached down inside Axel's pocket where there was a wallet, lighter, a pair of black horn-rimmed glasses and a cell phone. Roxas couldn't help but laugh. He now had Axel's phone.

* * *

That's all folks! Sorry about the heavily delayed update with this chapter. School and summer happened, ya'know? Darknessborn would like you to email to her any detailed advice, comments and/or criticism you could give us. Her email address is on our front page. Anyway please enjoy this new chapter. It should compensate any boredom you may have suffered during Chapter 3 and the time in between.

Also, we have a surprise for all our fans. We'd like to hold an art contest to see just how our readers visualize out story. The winner (sorry, no second or third place) will win a 'guest appearance' in our fic. We'll negotiate with you how you appear and what you do in Chapter 5. The winner and the 4 runner ups will be posted on our page (giving FULL credit to the artist.)

There are only a couple rules.

1. It must be YOUR art. We will do what we can to make sure that every piece is actually yours. Art thieves are the worst. :E If we find out that the artwork is stolen, you are disqualified.

2. The artwork must be from a scene from our fan fiction. It can't be some random picture of Axel and Roxas snogging like hot sweaty pigs because that isn't in the fan fiction….yet. It might be best for you to explain your picture to us, because if it doesn't look like it's from our fanfiction, you're disqualified. This also means no nudity, or mature content!!! No one has gotten naked yet in this fic!!!

3. All submissions must be submitted by September 2nd. Yes this does mean that Chapter 5 is gonna take like…6 weeks to write up, but hopefully we'll make it worth the while.

4. Where do you email it? Well, look on the front page for our Art Contest email. You must include:

- title of the art

- the name you would like to use as the artist

- a description of some sort, just to make sure it's from the fic

We will notify you after the contest deadline if you are the winner or a runner up. So tell all of your friends!! We want as many submissions as possible!! Have fun!


	5. Notice!

_No, I'm sorry! This isn't an update to Fire Treadmarks. :( HOWEVER! I, Xaijul, and Darknessborn have renamed ourselves as Kimba and Artemis respectively. We have a new story up, and thought that any old fans we had would be interested in reading our new work!_

_Thanks a bunch for your continued support._

_-Kimba_


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